Enhancing Photophysical Properties of MDMO-PPV-DMP Conjugated Polymer via Incorporation Anatase Titania Nanoparticles

• Published in: Journal of inorganic and organometallic polymers and materials Vol. 32; no. 9; pp. 3556 - 3563
• Main Authors: Al-Asbahi, Bandar Ali, Alanezi, Arwa Alhamedi, AlSalhi, Mohamad S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 2022; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Anatase; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Electronic structure; Emission spectra; Energy bands; Energy gap; Field emission microscopy; Fourier transforms; Glass substrates; Homogeneity; Incorporation; Infrared spectra; Inorganic Chemistry; Nanocomposites; Nanoparticles; Optoelectronic devices; Organic Chemistry; Particle size distribution; Polymer Sciences; Slopes; Solution blending; Spin coating; Thin films; Titanium dioxide; Energy band gap; MDMO-PPV-DMP/TiO; nanocomposite; CIE coordinates; Photophysical properties
• DOI: 10.1007/s10904-022-02379-w
• EISSN: 1574-1451
• ISSN: 1574-1443

Improving photophysical properties of poly[2-methoxy-5-(3,7-dimethyl-octyloxy)-1,4-phenylenevinylene]-end capped with dimethylphenyl, MDMO-PPV-DMP, was achieved via incorporation anatase titania nanoparticles (TiO
2
NPs). Various contents of TiO
2
NPs (up to 50 wt%) were dispersed into fixed concentration of the MDMO-PPV-DMP (5 mg/mL) via solution blending method followed by spin coating onto cleaned glass substrates to form their thin films. The formation of MDMO-PPV-DMP/TiO
2
nanocomposites was evidenced from the results of X-ray diffractograms and Fourier transform infrared spectra, while the homogeneity of the films was detected by field emission-scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). Increasing the contents of TiO
2
NPs resulted in a slight decrease (up to ~ 0.07 eV) in both direct and indirect energy band gaps of the MDMO-PPV-DMP in the nanocomposite thin films. A higher degree of disorder in the electronic structure of the MDMO-PPV-DMP/TiO
2
nanocomposite and increasing the localized states density within the forbidden gap can be achieved by increasing the energy tail values and decreasing the steepness parameter with rising the TiO
2
NPs content. The enhancement in emission intensity and broadening of emission spectra with increasing the TiO
2
NPs content can be explained by the charge trapping effect and particle size distribution, respectively. Moreover, the incorporation of TiO
2
NPs into the MDMO-PPV-DMP led to tuning its emitted light color which is of distinct interest in optoelectronic devices.