Influence of ZnO/TiO2 nanocomposite on optical and structural properties of OC1C10–PPV–DMP thin film

Abstract

The photophysical properties of poly[2-methoxy-5-(3,7-dimethyl-octyloxy)-1,4-phenylenevinylene]—End capped with dimethylphenyl (DMP), OC1C10–PPV–DMP, were modified by incorporation various contents of the nanocomposites of both anatase TiO2 and wurtzite ZnO (ZTNCs). The solution blending method was employed to prepare the nanocomposite hybrids of OC1C10–PPV–DMP with ZTNCs before depositing them onto glass substrates. The optical parameters of the hybrid nanocomposite thin films were extracted from both absorption and photoluminescence spectra. XRD, FTIR, and FE-SEM revealed the good incorporation of ZTNC into the polymer matrix with the formation of a nanocomposite structure. By increasing the content of ZTNCs in the polymer matrix, the optical parameters of OC1C10–PPV–DMP such as energy band gap, energy tail, steepness parameter, and CIE chromatic coordinates were tuned. The incorporation of ZTNCs resulted in broadened and improved absorption and emission peaks of the polymer with a systematic shift for its corresponding maximum peaks. These unique findings are crucial for improving the performance of optoelectronic devices based on OC1C10–PPV–DMP/ZTNCs.