Synthesis, Characterization and Functionalization of P3HT-CNT Nanocomposite Thin Films with Doped Ag2O
Abstract
This research focuses on the synthesis of carbon nanotube (CNT) and Poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) (pristine polymer) with Ag doped (CNT/ P3HT@Ag) nanocomposite thin films to be utilised in various practical applications. First, four samples of CNT solution and different ratios of the polymer (P3HT) [0.1, 0.3, 0.5, and 0.7 wt.%] are prepared to form thin layer of P3HT@CNT nanocomposites by dip-coating method of Ag. To investigate the absorption and conductivity properties for use in various practical applications, structure, morphology, optical, and photoluminescence properties of CNT/P3HT @Ag nanocomposite are systematically evaluated in this study. In this regard, the UV/Vis/NIR spectrophotometer in the wavelength range of 350 to 700 nm is used to investigate the absorption, transmission spectrum, extinction coefficient (k) and refractive index of the samples prepared at room temperature. The XRD results indicate a slight increase in the crystallite size of the synthesized (CNT/ P3HT@Ag) nanocomposite compared to CNT/P3HT nanocomposite, which can be attributed to the better dispersion of the P3HT and its favorable wrapping around the carbon nanotube structures. FESEM results show that the Ag nanoparticles are acting as a bridge between the CNT and P3HT, creating a strong bond between the two materials that is strong enough to form thicker tubular structures. An appreciable increase in absorbance intensity (approximately 552 nm) is obtained by adding silver nanoparticles to the CNT/P3HT matrix at 0.5% of P3HT. Additionally, the prepared CNT/P3HT@Ag thin films show greater transmittance – more than 42%, 45%, 49%, and 48% for P3HT concentrations of 1%, 3%, 5%, and 7%, respectively. The preparation of the samples' extinction coefficient (k) and refractive index data show that the inclusion of silver nanoparticles to the CNT/P3HT nanocomposite matrix has a significant improvement over the previous samples (CNT/P3HT composite).
Downloads
References
S. Shi, S. Ravi, and P. Silva, “High luminance organic light-emitting diodes with efficient multi-walled carbon nanotube hole injectors,” Carbon, 50, 4163-4170 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbon.2012.04.065
A.K. Singh, and R. Prakash, “Organic Schottky diode based on conducting polymer nanoclay composite,” RSC Advances, 2, 5277-5283 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1039/C2RA20206A
A. Bruno, T.D. Luccio, C. Borriella, F. Villani, S. Haque, and C. Minarini, “Exciton dynamics in hybrid polymer/qd blends,” Energy Procedia, 44, 167-175 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2013.12.024
S. Lee, B.R. Lee, J. Kim, and M.H. Song, “Combination effect of polar solvent treatment on ZnO and polyuorene-based polymer blends for highly efficient blue based hybrid organic inorganic polymer light-emitting diodes,” Journal of Materials Chemistry C, 2, 8673-8677 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1039/C4TC01726A
J. Shi, J. Zhang, L. Yang, M. Qu, D.C. Qi, and K.H. Zhang, “Wide bandgap oxide semiconductors: from materials physics to optoelectronic devices,” Advanced materials, 33(50), 2006230 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202006230
P. Rathore, C.M.S. Negi, A.S. Verma, A. Singh, G. Chauhan, A.R. Inigo, and S.K. Gupta, “Investigation of the optical and electrical characteristics of solution-processed poly (3 hexylthiophene) (P3HT): multiwall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) composite-based devices,” Materials Research Express, 4(8), 085905 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1088/2053-1591/aa7dac
R. Meitzner, T. Faber, S. Alam, A. Amand, R. Roesch, M. Büttner, F. Herrmann-Westendorf, et al., “Impact of P3HT materials properties and layer architecture on OPV device stability,” Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, 202, 110151 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solmat.2019.110151
N. Rao, R. Singh, and L. Bashambu, “Carbon-based nanomaterials: Synthesis and prospective applications,” Materials Today: Proceedings, 44, 608-614 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2020.10.593
W. Aloui, A. Ltaief, and A. Bouazizi, 2013. Transparent and conductive multi walled carbon nanotubes flexible electrodes for optoelectronic applications. Superlattices and Microstructures, 64, 581-589.
P.C. Mahakul, and P. Mahanandia, “Structural and electrical characteristics of solution processed P3HT-carbon nanotube composite,” IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, 178(1), 012024 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1088/1757-899X/178/1/012024
Q.A. Yousif, K.M. Mahdi, and H.A., Alshamsi, “Enhanced photovoltaic performance of dye‐sensitized solar cell based on ZnO nanoparticles and ZnO/graphene nanocomposites,” Journal of the Chinese Chemical Society, 68(9), 1637-1643 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1002/jccs.202000382
F. Ziaeifar, A. Alizadeh, and Z. Shariatinia, “Dye sensitized solar cells fabricated based on nanocomposite photoanodes of TiO2 and AlMo0.5O3 perovskite nanoparticles,” Solar Energy, 218, 435-444 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2021.03.024
H-J. Hwang, S-J. Joo, and H-S. Kim, “Copper nanoparticle/multiwalled carbon nanotube composite films with high electrical conductivity and fatigue resistance fabricated via flash light sintering,” ACS Applied Materials Interfaces, 7, 25413-25423 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.5b08112
B. King, and B. Panchapakesan, “Vacuum filtration-based formation of liquid crystal films of semiconducting carbon nanotubes and high-performance transistor devices,” Nanotechnology, 25, 175201 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1088/0957-4484/25/17/175201
M. Zhang, S. Höfle, J. Czolk, A. Mertens, and A. Colsmann, “All-Solution Processed Transparent Organic Light Emitting Diodes,” Nanoscale, 7, 20009-20014 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1039/C5NR05820A
W. Zhou, X. Bai, E. Wang, and S. Xie, “Synthesis, structure, and properties of single‐walled carbon nanotubes,” Advanced Materials, 21(45), 4565-4583 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.200901071
D. Luo, Q.B. Chen, B. Liu, and Y. Qiu, “Emergence of Flexible White Organic Light-Emitting Diodes,” Polymers, 11, 384 (2019). https://doi.org/10.3390/polym11020384
G. Li, R. Zhu, and Y. Yang, “Polymer Solar Cells,” Nature Photonics, 6, 153-161 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2012.11
Y.Y. Gao, Z. Wang, G.T. Yue, X. Yu, X.S. Liu, G. Yang, F.R. Tan, et al., “Efficient Polymer Solar Cells with High Fill Factor Enabled by a Furo[3,4-c] Pyrrole-4,6-Dione-Based Copolymer,” Solar RRL, 3, 1900012 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1002/solr.201900012
Z.J. Zhang, J.H. Miao, Z.C. Ding, B. Kan, B.J. Lin, X.J. Wan, W. Ma, et al., “Efficient and Thermally Stable Organic Solar Cells Based on Small Molecule Donor and Polymer Acceptor,” Nature Communications, 10, 3271 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-10984-6
S. Ren, L.Y. Chang, S.K. Lim, J. Zhao, M., Smith, N. Zhao, V. Bulovic, et al., “Inorganic Organic Hybrid Solar Cell: Bridging Quantum Dots to Conjugate Polymer Nanowire,” Nano Letters, 11, 3998-4002 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1021/nl202435t
D. Chaudhary, S. Munjal, N. Khare, and V.D. Vankar, “Bipolar resistive switching and nonvolatile memory effect in poly (3-hexylthiophene)–carbon nanotube composite films,” Carbon, 130, 553-558 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbon.2018.01.058
M.D. Hampton, “Polythiophene nanowires for use in organic electronic applications,” PhD diss, Cardiff University, 2012.
M. Tonga, “A Rational Ternary Design of P3HT/Insulating Polymers–CNTs/P3HT for the Enhanced Thermoelectric Performances,” Composite Interfaces, 29(2), 197-213 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1080/09276440.2021.1913900
M. Baibarac, G. Arzumanyan, M. Daescu, A. Udrescu, and K. Mamatkulov, “Anisotropic Photoluminescence of Poly (3-hexyl thiophene) and Their Composites with Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes Highly Separated in Metallic and Semiconducting Tubes,” Molecules, 26(2), 294 (2021). https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26020294
H. Zhu, M. Pan, M.B. Johansson, and E.M. Johansson, “High photon‐to‐current conversion in solar cells based on light‐absorbing silver bismuth iodide,” ChemSusChem, 10(12), 2592-2596 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1002/cssc.201700634
N.S.N. Sa'aya, S.Z.N. Demon, N. Abdullah, A. Shatar, V.F.K. Ernest, and N.A. Halim, “Optical and Morphological Studies of Multiwalled Carbon Nanotube-incorporated Poly (3-hexylthiophene-2, 5-diyl) Nanocomposites,” Sensors & Materials, 31, 2997 3006 (2019). https://doi.org/10.18494/SAM.2019.2513
P.H.N. Nguyen, “Facile preparation, characterization of flexible organic solar cells using P3HT-MWCNTs composite photoactive layer,” Journal of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, 8, 1-10 (2020). https://doi.org/10.4236/msce.2020.810001
M.R. Karim, “Synthesis and characterizations of poly (3-hexylthiophene) and modified carbon nanotube composites,” Journal of Nanomaterials, 2012, 34-38 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/174353
S. Qotso, P. Mbule, and B. Mothudi, “Characterization of P3HT-CNT thin films for photovoltaic solar cell applications,” in: SAIP 2021 Proceedings, https://events.saip.org.za/event/206/contributions/7086/contribution.pdf
D. Khan, et al., “Incorporation of carbon nanotubes in photoactive layer of organic solar cells,” Ain Shams Engineering Journal, 12(1), 897-900 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asej.2020.06.002
B.K. Kuila, K. Park, and L. Dai, “Soluble P3HT-grafted carbon nanotubes: synthesis and photovoltaic application,” Macromolecules, 43(16), 6699-6705 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1021/ma100917p
N. Nurazzi, N. Abdullah, S.Z.N. Demon, N.A. Halim, and I.S. Mohamad, “The Influence of Reaction Time on Non-Covalent Functionalisation of P3HT/MWCNT Nanocomposites,” Polymers, 13(12), 1916 (2021). https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13121916
G. Keru, P.G. Ndungu, G.T. Mola, and V.O. Nyamori, “Bulk heterojunction solar cell with nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes in the active layer: effect of nanocomposite synthesis technique on photovoltaic properties,” Materials, 8(5), 2415-2432 (2015). https://doi.org/10.3390/ma8052415
T.S.T. Khanh, N.P.H. Nam, and N.N. Dinh, “Facile preparation, characterization of flexible organic solar cells using P3HT-MWCNTs composite photoactive layer,” Journal of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, 8, 1-10 2020. https://eprints.uet.vnu.edu.vn/eprints/id/eprint/4293/1/NPH%20Nam_MSCE_2020.pdf
P.J. Goutam, D.K. Singh, and P.K. Iyer, “Photoluminescence quenching of poly (3-hexylthiophene) by carbon nanotubes,” The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 116(14), 8196-8201 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1021/jp300115q
D. Hernández-Martínez, et al., “Elaboration and characterization of P3HT–PEO–SWCNT fibers by electrospinning technique,” SN Applied Sciences, 2, 462-470 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42452-020-2278-2
B.K. Kuila, S. Malik, S.K. Batabyal, and A.K. Nandi, “In-situ synthesis of soluble poly (3-hexylthiophene)/multiwalled carbon nanotube composite: Morphology, structure, and conductivity,” Macromolecules, 40(2), 278-287 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1021/ma061548e
D. Meng, J. Sun, S. Jiang, Y. Zeng, Y. Li, S. Yan, J. Geng, and Y. Huanga, “Grafting P3HT brushes on GO sheets: distinctive properties of the GO/P3HT composites due to different grafting approaches,” Journal of Materials Chemistry, 22(40), 21583 21591 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1039/C2JM35317B
V. Saini, Z. Li, S. Bourdo, E. Dervishi, Y. Xu, X. Ma, V.P. Kunets, “Electrical, optical, and morphological properties of P3HT-MWNT nanocomposites prepared by in situ polymerization.” The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 113(19), 8023-8029 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1021/jp809479a
H. Tai, X. Li, Y. Jiang, G. Xie, and X. Du, “The enhanced formaldehyde-sensing properties of P3HT-ZnO hybrid thin film OTFT sensor and further insight into its stability,” Sensors, 15(1), 2086-2103 (2015). https://doi.org/10.3390/s150102086
J. Arranz-Andrés, and W.J. Blau, “Enhanced device performance using different carbon nanotube types in polymer photovoltaic devices,” Carbon, 46(15), 2067-2075 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbon.2008.08.027
Copyright (c) 2024 Hayder Abdulmeer Abbas, Wissem Cheikrohou Koubaa, Estabraq Talib Abdullah
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
