Electronic interaction in composites of a conjugated polymer and carbon nanotubes: first-principles calculation and photophysical approaches

Florian Massuyeau; Jany Wéry; Jean-Luc Duvail; Serge Lefrant; Abu Yaya; Chris Ewels; Eric Faulques

doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.115

Electronic interaction in composites of a conjugated polymer and carbon nanotubes: first-principles calculation and photophysical approaches

Beilstein J Nanotechnol. 2015 May 8:6:1138-44. doi: 10.3762/bjnano.6.115. eCollection 2015.

Authors

Florian Massuyeau¹, Jany Wéry¹, Jean-Luc Duvail¹, Serge Lefrant¹, Abu Yaya², Chris Ewels¹, Eric Faulques¹

Affiliations

¹ Institut des Matériaux Jean Rouxel, Université de Nantes, CNRS, UMR6502, 2 rue de la Houssinière, 44322 Nantes, France.
² Institut des Matériaux Jean Rouxel, Université de Nantes, CNRS, UMR6502, 2 rue de la Houssinière, 44322 Nantes, France ; Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Ghana, P.O. Box 24, Legon, Accra, Ghana.

Abstract

The mechanisms that control the photophysics of composite films made of a semiconducting conjugated polymer (poly(paraphenylene vinylene), PPV) mixed with single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) up to a concentration of 64 wt % are determined by using photoexcitation techniques and density functional theory. Charge separation is confirmed experimentally by rapid quenching of PPV photoluminescence and changes in photocurrent starting at relatively low concentrations of SWNT. Calculations predict strong electronic interaction between the polymer and the SWNT network when nanotubes are semiconducting.

Keywords: DFT calculations; composite; conjugated polymer; energy transfer; photoconductivity; single wall carbon nanotubes; time-resolved photoluminescence.