Structural, optical and photoelectrical characteristics of 4-methoxy-2-nitroaniline for optoelectronic applications

Abstract

Herein, the significant physical properties of 4-methoxy-2-nitroaniline, 4M2N, spun coated thin films are exploited in fabricating an organic/inorganic hybrid heterojunction photodetector. In the present study, the structural and morphological properties of the prepared thin films are investigated. The as-deposited films have a smooth surface with average crystallite size ~85.27 nm, while the deposition method has no significant impact on the molecular structure. Furthermore, the linear and non-linear optical properties of the fabricated 4M2N thin films are investigated by using a spectrophotometric technique. The fabricated films showed a significantly high UV and visible light absorption with an energy gap of about 3.27 eV. Also, the non-linear optical constants of 4M2N thin films are calculated. The photoelectrical properties of Au/4M2N/p-Si/Al heterojunction are evaluated. It is found that the fabricated device as a photodetector exhibits a stable performance with good responsivity and detectivity. Finally, the photovoltaic performance of the fabricated device is analyzed, where the present architecture exhibits 1.05% PCE, with open-circuit voltage ~516 mV and short circuit current density ~4.64 mA/cm2.