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.