Solution processed PANI-rGO-SiO2 nanocomposite with inflated electron injection and transport capabilities as ETL for OLED applications

Abstract

PANI-rGO-SiO2 nanocomposite as an ETL with varying concentrations of SiO2 was synthesized via oxidative in-situ polymerization process. Their structural and optical properties were investigated by XRD, FESEM, FTIR, Photoluminescence and UV–Vis. Spectroscopy. The PANI depicted a nanofiber-like structure with uniform distribution. The optical band gap of the optimized PGS1 nanocomposite was estimated ∼ 3.01 eV in the visible region of electromagnetic spectrum. TGA results revealed lesser weight loss ∼ 12 % in case of PGS1 nanocomposite than PANI. The light absorption was found at 481 nm in blue region due to charge transfer of SiO2 and PANI-rGO matrix. The current density of PGS1 nanocomposite was observed 76 % greater than pristine PANI using J-V characteristics which showed greater capacities to transfer electron from cathode into emissive layer. These results elucidate that the optimized PGS1 nanocomposite is a compatible candidate for an electron transport layer (ETL) in OLED applications.