Synthesis and characterization of novel banana-graphene nanofibrous membrane from viscous liquid for bandgap formation

Abstract

Organic semiconductors with wide bandgaps have potential applications in organic light-emitting diode displays, organic photovoltaic devices, organic field-effect transistors and solar cells. However, organic semiconductors are not good conductors of electricity. This study synthesizes the banana-graphene nanofibrous membrane using an electric spin process to form a tunable bandgap to enhance conductivity. The chemical process was followed to prepare liquid viscous from banana stalks. Different percentages of graphene (1.2 wt.%, 2.4 wt.% and 3.6 wt.%) were used with the liquid viscous to form sizeable and tunable bandgaps in the composites and enhance the conductivity of the materials. The results showed 5.67 %, 24.5 %, and 27.8 % lower bandgap for 1.2 wt.%, 2.4 %, and 3.6 wt.% graphene-contained samples, respectively, as compared to the polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) viscous fibre (3.35 eV). With the addition of graphene with PVA viscous fibre, the properties of electrospun nanofibrous graphene were changed from insulator to semiconductor. The band gap property was controlled by incorporating graphene with various percentages. The morphology of the surfaces showed that nanofibers are bonded with each other, and graphene nanoparticles are uniformly distributed. The results of this work can be considered to further progress in manufacturing nanocomposites for organic semiconductor applications.