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 (TiO 2 ) acting as an electron acceptor, by spin-coating deposition technique. We have investigated at 10 wt%, 20 wt%, 30 wt% and 40 wt% of TiO 2 composition effects on electrical, photoconductivity and optical properties of the nanocomposited MEH-PPV: TiO 2 thin films. Current-Voltage (I-V) and optical characteristics of the thin films found that the composition of TiO 2 in MEH-PPV might optimize the nanocomposited thin films performance. For optimum thin film performance, composition of TiO 2 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 TiO 2 exhibited strong absorption at wavelength of 500 nm in visible range and 340 nm in UV ranges respectively. It is conjectured that by introduced TiO 2 nanoparticle in MEH-PPV matrices, it could lead to significant improvement in photoconductivity and optical characteristics for organic photovoltaic cell applications.