TiO2 doped PDPP3T nanocomposite thin film for photovoltaic application

Abstract

In present work, an inorganic dopant TiO2 nanoparticles are introduced into the PDPP3T polymer host material and deposited as thin films via spin coating. Different solvent are investigated to get efficient dispersion of TiO2 nanoparticles as well as effective dissolution of PDPP3T material. The role of TiO2 particles towards optical absorption of PDPP3T material is studied by preparing different PDPP3T/TiO2 blend ratios and annealed at different temperatures. Toluene is found an efficient solvent for the dispersion of TiO2 nanoparticles as well as dissolution of PDPP3T material. Significant increase in optical absorption in UV region 300-400nm is observed for the PDPP3T/TiO2 blend ratio 1:0.2 and the annealing temperature 310oC. The deposited thin film with four layers have demonstrated significant blue shift in peak wavelength and increase in the absorption in UV region (300-400nm). XRD analysis reveals amorphous nature of all deposited thin film. No significant variations in chemical structure are observed with increase in thickness of deposited layer. The addition of TiO2 particle in PDPP3T material significantly enhanced the optical absorption in UV region.