Published online by Cambridge University Press: 03 August 2011
Inorganic-organic nanocomposites, with II-VI or III-V semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs) embedded in semiconducting polymer matrix, are very promising materials for photovoltaic applications.
Here, we present an effective and easy synthesis procedure to obtain a hybrid nanocomposite with CdS NCs dispersed in poly[2-methoxy-5-(2-(2’-ethyl-hexyloxy)-1,4-phenylene vinylene] (MEH-PPV) conjugated polymer. CdS NCs are synthesized directly within the matrix through the decomposition of a suitable unimolecular precursor dispersed homogeneously in the polymer.
We show that CdS NCs are formed at low annealing temperature avoiding structural damages and without affecting the functional properties of the MEH-PPV polymer. The NCs diameter ranges between 1.5nm and 4nm depending on the annealing temperature. In addition, no coalescence phenomena of CdS NCs were noticed in TEM observations even at very high particle density (40 wt %).