The construction of favorable photoanode configurations is of great importance to enhance the performance of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). In this work, a double-layer photoanode architecture consisting of a top layer of hierarchical TiO2 networks (HTNs) and a bottom layer of commercial P25 nanoparticles (NPs) was designed and prepared by a facile one-step hydrothermal method. This unique double-layer structure not only affords stronger light scattering and faster electron transport relative to the single-layer P25 photoanode, but also ensures more close contact between different functional layers in contrast to commonly used multistep mechanical coated photoanodes. Furthermore, Au NPs with particle sizes of around 20 nm were incorporated to decorate the HTN photoanode. The localized surface plasmon resonance effect of such Au NPs significantly enhances the light absorption of N719 dye molecules. Benefitted from the splendid light harvesting and superior electron collection, the Au-HTN photoanode configuration delivers an enhanced power conversion efficiency of 5.97%, yielding ∼19% improvement compared to the device based on the conventional P25 photoanode. This work highlights the design of photoanodes with unique nanostructures for enhancing the photovoltaic performance of DSSCs.

中文翻译：

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通过分层 TiO$_{2}$ 网络和金纳米粒子装饰的协同效应增强染料敏化太阳能电池的性能

构建有利的光阳极配置对于提高染料敏化太阳能电池 (DSSC) 的性能非常重要。在这项工作中，通过简单的一步水热法设计和制备了双层光阳极结构，该结构由顶层的分层 TiO2 网络（HTNs）和底层的商业 P25 纳米粒子（NPs）组成。与单层 P25 光电阳极相比，这种独特的双层结构不仅提供更强的光散射和更快的电子传输，而且与常用的多步机械涂层光电阳极相比，还确保了不同功能层之间更紧密的接触。此外，还加入了粒径约为 20 nm 的 Au NP 来装饰 HTN 光阳极。这种 Au NPs 的局部表面等离子体共振效应显着增强了 N719 染料分子的光吸收。得益于出色的光收集和卓越的电子收集，Au-HTN 光电阳极配置提供了 5.97% 的增强的功率转换效率，与基于传统 P25 光电阳极的设备相比，提高了约 19%。这项工作突出了具有独特纳米结构的光阳极的设计，以提高 DSSC 的光伏性能。