Significant broadband photocurrent enhancement by Au-CZTS core-shell nanostructured photocathodes

Zhang, X., Wu, X., Centeno, A. , Ryan, M. P., Alford, N. M., Riley, D. J. and Xie, F. (2016) Significant broadband photocurrent enhancement by Au-CZTS core-shell nanostructured photocathodes. Scientific Reports, 6, 23364. (doi: 10.1038/srep23364) (PMID:26997140) (PMCID:PMC4800310)

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Abstract

Copper zinc tin sulfide (CZTS) is a promising material for harvesting solar energy due to its abundance and non-toxicity. However, its poor performance hinders their wide application. In this paper gold (Au) nanoparticles are successfully incorporated into CZTS to form Au@CZTS core-shell nanostructures. The photocathode of Au@CZTS nanostructures exhibits enhanced optical absorption characteristics and improved incident photon-to-current efficiency (IPCE) performance. It is demonstrated that using this photocathode there is a significant increase of the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of a photoelectrochemical solar cell of 100% compared to using a CZTS without Au core. More importantly, the PCE of Au@CZTS photocathode improved by 15.8% compared to standard platinum (Pt) counter electrode. The increased efficiency is attributed to plasmon resonance energy transfer (PRET) between the Au nanoparticle core and the CZTS shell at wavelengths shorter than the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) peak of the Au and the semiconductor bandgap.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Centeno, Dr Anthony
Authors: Zhang, X., Wu, X., Centeno, A., Ryan, M. P., Alford, N. M., Riley, D. J., and Xie, F.
College/School:College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Systems Power and Energy
Journal Name:Scientific Reports
Publisher:Nature Publishing Group
ISSN:2045-2322
ISSN (Online):2045-2322
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2016 The Authors
First Published:First published in Scientific Reports 6: 23364
Publisher Policy:Reproduced under a Creative Commons License

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