Organic-inorganic nanocomposites for renewable energy conversion devices

Abstract

A robust synthetic routes to crafting conjugated polymer (CP) grafted semiconducting nanocrystal (NC) nanocomposites with the intimate contact between these two semiconducting constituents was introduced. The architecture of semiconducting nanocrystals (i.e., CdSe, and CdTe) was controlled by tuning the fraction of mobile bifunctional ligands, yielding azide functionalized CdSe nanorods, CdTe tetrapods, and CdSe tetrapods after conversion of bromide group into azide moiety. Subsequently, ethynyl end-functionalized poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) were grafted onto NC surfaces via catalyst-free click chemistry. The intimate contact between P3HT and semiconducting NCs rendered the effective dispersion of NCs in nanocomposites, and facilitated their efficient electronic interaction as can be confirmed by photoluminescence spectroscopy. The success of coupling reaction was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Furthermore, the effect of size and shape of semiconducting NCs and the types of functional ligands on the photovoltaic device performance was studied.