Nanosilver‐Decorated TiO 2 Nanofibers Coated with a SiO 2 Layer for Enhanced Light Scattering and Localized Surface Plasmons in Dye‐Sensitized Solar Cells

Enhanced harvesting of visible light is vital to the development of highly efficient dye‐sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Nanosilver‐decorated TiO 2 nanofibers (Ag@TiO 2 NFs) were synthesized by depositing chemically reduced Ag ions onto the surface of electrospun TiO 2 nanofibers (TiO 2 NFs). The prepared Ag@TiO 2 NFs were coated with SiO 2 (SiO 2 @Ag@TiO 2 NFs) by using PVP as coupling agent for protecting corrosion of Ag nanoparticle by I − / ${{\rm I}{{- \hfill \atop 3\hfill}}}$ solution. The fabricated SiO 2 @Ag@TiO 2 NFs demonstrated a synergistic effect of light scattering and surface plasmons, leading to an enhanced light absorption. Moreover, an anode consisting of SiO 2 @Ag@TiO 2 NFs incorporating TiO 2 nanoparticles (NPs) increased light harvesting without substantially sacrificing dye attachment. The power conversion efficiency increased from 6.8 to 8.7 % for a thick film (10 μm), that is, 28 %. These results suggest that SiO 2 @Ag@TiO 2 NFs are promising materials for enhanced light absorption in dye‐sensitized solar cells.