Journal of Engineering in Industrial Research

h-index: 18     i10-index: 25

Green-Synthesized Ag/TiO₂ Nanocomposite Photoanodes Using Glyricidia sepium Extract for Enhanced Charge Transport in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Document Type : Original Research Article

Authors

Joseph Adegbite Adebanji 1
Gabriel Ayinde Alamu 1
Olufunke Lydia Adedeji 2
Khadijat Kuburat Babalola 3
Ayodele Joshua Abiodun 4
Hakeem Olayinka Oyeshola 1
Oluwaseun Adedokun 1, 5
Yekinni Kolawole Sanusi 1, 5

1 Department of Pure and Applied Physics, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Nigeria

2 Department of Chemical Science, Yaba College of Technology, Yaba, Nigeria

3 Department of Physical and Chemical Sciences, Federal University of Health Sciences, Ila-Orangun, Nigeria

4 Department of Physics, Lead City University, Ibadan, Oyo, Nigeria

5 Nanotechnology Research Group (NANO+), Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Nigeria

https://doi.org/10.48309/jeires.2026.536373.1293
Abstract
This study effectively demonstrated the use of Gliricidia sepium (G. sepium) leaf extract in the formation and characterization of a green-synthesized silver/titanium dioxide (Ag/TiO2) nanocomposite, as well as its use as an enhanced photoanode material in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The production of the silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) was established by UV-Vi’s spectra of the plasmon resonance band, which was detected at around 420 nm. Due to the incorporation of the nanoparticles with TiO2, the energy gap clearly decreased. The functional groups and their probable contribution to the formation of the nanoparticles and nanocomposite were identified by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) investigations. X-ray Diffraction (XRD) studies revealed that the produced nanoparticles and nanocomposite had average crystallite sizes of 3.69 nm and 4.04 nm, respectively. Spherical, smoother, and more uniform particles were visible in the synthesized nanocomposite's Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) image. The TiO2 nanocomposite's Energy Dispersive Spectra (EDS) confirmed the existence of Ag and other constituent elements. The creation of nanoparticles and nanocomposite with average particle sizes of 4.14 nm and 5.39 nm was further confirmed by the evaluation of the particles’ Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) micrographs. The conductivity of the TiO2 photoanode was improved by 73.11% after the inclusion of the AgNPs, leading to promising electrical characteristics that indicate its suitability in DSSCs.

Graphical Abstract

Green-Synthesized Ag/TiO₂ Nanocomposite Photoanodes Using Glyricidia sepium Extract for Enhanced Charge Transport in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Keywords

Nanostructured photoanode
Enhanced electrical conductivity
Ag/TiO2 nanocomposite
Dye-sensitized solar cell
Gliricidia septum

Subjects

OPEN ACCESS

©2026 The author(s). This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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Journal of Engineering in Industrial Research
Volume 7, Issue 1
Winter 2026
Pages 29-47

  • Receive Date 02 August 2025
  • Revise Date 29 August 2025
  • Accept Date 16 September 2025

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