Journal article
Plasmonic Hot Electron Solar Cells: The Effect of Nanoparticle Size on Quantum Efficiency
P Reineck, D Brick, P Mulvaney, U Bach
Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters | AMER CHEMICAL SOC | Published : 2016
Abstract
Gold nanoparticles located at a metal oxide/hole conductor interface generate photocurrents upon visible light illumination. We demonstrate that the quantum efficiency of this process depends on the nanoparticle size. Gold nanoparticles (5 nm) show a maximum absorbed photon-to-electron conversion efficiency (APCE) of 13.3%. For increasing particle sizes, the average APCE decreases to 3.3% for the largest particles (40 nm) investigated. Three possible causes for this efficiency change are discussed.
Grants
Awarded by ARC
Funding Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge the Australian Centre for Advanced Photovoltaics, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, and the Victorian State Government (DBI-VSA and DPI-ETIS) for financial support. The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization is acknowledged for providing support through an OCE Science Leader position (U.B.). P.M. thanks the ARC for support through Grant LF100100117. The authors acknowledge use of facilities within the Monash Centre for Electron Microscopy.