Structural and photophysical properties of PVK-F8BT copolymer thin films, with single walled carbon nanotubes: Synthesis, characterization and modeling.

Abstract

The nanocomposite material was elaborated (developed) by mixing of the PVK-F8BT copolymer onto the single walled carbon nanotubes SWCNTs. The new composites were prepared with various weight concentrations of SWCNTs (0.75%, 1.5% and 3%). Different experimental analyses were performed to examine their morphological features and their optical and vibrational spectroscopy behaviors as a function of the concentration of short single-walled carbon nanotubes. Π-staking interaction and the functionalization process between the copolymer and the SWCNTs have a considerable effect on the vibratory and photoemissive properties of the copolymer matrix. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission (TEM) were used. Then, Raman scattering and steady state and time-resolved photoluminescence (PL) and (TRPL) measurements were used to study the evolution of spectroscopic characteristics and optical properties of the PVK-F8BT/SWCNTs composites. An extinction effect of PL and a decrease in the average life of the exciton time was observed. These indicated the processing of a charge transfer leading to exciton dissociations to the SWCNTs matrix. The results, also supported by DFT-based modeling method have proven a strong evidence of the functionalization and the charge transfer between the SWCNTs and the PVK-F8BT copolymer and predicted equally a correlation of structural properties.