The effect of TiO2 nanoparticle on the photoconductivity properties of organic MEH-PPV thin films for organic photovoltaic cell applications

In this paper, we have deposited organic: inorganic thin films using poly [2-methoxy 5-(2'-ethyl-hexyloxy)-1, 4-phenylene vinylene] (MEH-PPV) polymer as electron donator with titanium dioxide (TiO2) acting as an electron acceptor, by spin-coating deposition technique. We have investigated at 10 wt%, 20 wt%, 30 wt% and 40 wt% of TiO2 composition effects on electrical, photoconductivity and optical properties of the nanocomposited MEH-PPV: TiO2 thin films. Current-Voltage (I-V) and optical characteristics of the thin films found that the composition of TiO2 in MEH-PPV might optimize the nanocomposited thin films performance. For optimum thin film performance, composition of TiO2 at 20 wt% gives the highest I-V and photoconductivity properties at 75.04×10-3 S.cm-1. Whilst for optical properties, at 10 wt% shows an optimum absorbance with MEH-PPV and TiO2 exhibited strong absorption at wavelength of 500 nm in visible range and 340 nm in UV ranges respectively. It is conjectured that by introduced TiO2 nanoparticle in MEH-PPV matrices, it could lead to significant improvement in photoconductivity and optical characteristics for organic photovoltaic cell applications.