TiO2, a photosensitive semiconducting material, has been widely reported as a good photoanode material in dye-sensitized solar cells and new emerging perovskite cells. Its proper electronic band structure, surface chemistry and hydrophilic nature provide a reactive surface for interfacing with different organic and inorganic photon capturing materials in photovoltaics. Here, we review its enabl...

Recent advances in the use of plasmonic metamaterials to improve absorption of light in thin-film solar photovoltaic devices has created a demand for a scalable method of patterning large areas with metal nanostructures deposited in an ordered array. This article describes two methods of fabricating ordered 2D nanosphere colloidal films: spin coating and interface coating. The two methods are c...

Nanowires (NWs) are recently used in several sensor or actuator devices to improve their ordered characteristics. Silicon nanowire (Si NW) is one of the most attractive one-dimensional nanostructures semiconductors because of its unique electrical and optical properties. In this paper, silicon nanowire (Si NW), is synthesized and characterized for application in photovoltaic device. Si NWs are ...

A 3-D optical modelling was calibrated to calculate the light absorption and the total reflection of fabricated CIGS solar cells. Absorption losses at molybdenum (Mo) / CIGS interface were explained in terms of plasmonic waves. To quench these losses, we assumed the insertion of a lossless dielectric spacer between Mo and CIGS, whose optical properties were varied. We show that such a spacer wi...

Optimal performance of nanophotonic devices, including sensors and solar cells, requires maximizing the interaction between light and matter. This efficiency is optimized when active moieties are localized in areas where electromagnetic (EM) fields are confined. Confinement of matter in these 'hotspots' has previously been accomplished through inefficient 'top-down' methods. Here we report a ra...

Electrochromic devices, which dynamically change colour under applied potential, are widely studied for use in energy-efficient smart windows. To improve the viability of smart windows, many researchers are utilizing nanomaterials, which can provide electrochromic devices with improved colouration efficiencies, faster switching times, longer cycle lives, and potentially reduced costs. In an eff...

This report investigates the influence of surface chemistry (or wettability) on the evaporation performance of free-standing double-layered thin film on the surface of water. Such newly developed evaporation system is composed of top plasmonic light-to-heat conversion layer and bottom porous supporting layer. Under solar light illumination, the induced plasmonic heat will be localized within th...

Abs t rac t We have s tud ied cha rac te r i za t ion of micromechanical cleavage monolayer molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) deposited on SiO2/Si and glass substrates. Spherical gold (Au) nanoparticles were anchored on top of monolayer MoS2 film. Direct reflection spectra were measured, which infers significant improvement of total average absorption of monolayer MoS2 in Vis-NIR range of 400–800 nm ...

Nanophotonic structures with irregular symmetry, such as quasiperiodic plasmonic crystals, have gained an increasing amount of attention, in particular as potential candidates to enhance the absorption of solar cells in an angular insensitive fashion. To examine the photonic bandstructure of such systems that determines their optical properties, it is necessary to measure and model normal and o...

We have fabricated titanium dioxide based dye-sensitized solar cells that incorporate corrosion-protected silver nanoparticles as plasmonic optical elements of the photoelectrode. The thickness of the TiO(2) layer separating the dye from the nanoparticles has been systematically varied using atomic layer deposition. Over the range of TiO(2) coating thicknesses examined (2 to 8 nm) there is clea...