Advanced Ag/rGO/TiO2 Ternary Nanocomposite based Photoanode Approaches to High-ly-Efficient Plasmonic Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

This researchdemonstrates the utilization of newlyde-signedadvanced Ag/rGO/TiO2ternary nanocomposite based photoanode for highly-efficient plasmonicdye-sen-sitizedsolarcells (PDSSCs). The Ag/rGO/TiO2ternary nanocomposite wassuccessfullysynthesized by a facile solvothermalapproach without deploying any hazardous agent. In order to achieve the higher power conversion efficiency of the PDSSCs, itis essential to improve the electron injection and optical absorption of the photo-anodes. The nanocomposite wascharacterized by FE-SEM and TEM analyses, whichdisclosedthat the ternary nano-composite has been synthesized. The incorporation of Ag nanoparticles on the TiO2nanoparticlesconsiderably-influenced the opticalpropertiesbecause of the localized surface plasmonresonance. XRD and EDX spectroscopic techniques wereutilized to confirm the synthesis of Ag nanoparticles and rGO. Furthermore, thermal stability of the nanocomposite wasinvestigated by thermal gravimet-ricanalysis (TGA). Ag/rGO/TiO2ternary nanocomposite based photoanode demonstrated an enhanced power change productivity of 6.87% in PDSSCs, whichwas 15% higherthanthat of the unadulterated TiO2nanoparticles-based photoanode. In addition, an enhanced IPCE of 68% wasalsoobserved in comparisonwith the pristine TiOrGO2, whichwasfound due to remarkableconductivity of