Composite polymer films with semiconductor nanocrystals for organic electronics and optoelectronics

Organic materials and, in particular, polymer films enhanced with certain nanocrystals have a potential for wide application in electronics and optoelectronics due to their organic flexibility, lightweight, simple integration, affordable manufacturing cost, and low environmental impact of their production. The purpose of this research is to investigate the electrical properties of polymer-based composite films containing Cd1-xCuxS nanocrystals in order to determine their prospects for use as conductive layers in organic electronics and optoelectronics. The paper contains a detailed description of the synthesis method of hybrid nanocomposite films based on peroxide reactive copolymer (PRC) with Cd1-xCuxS nanocrystals. The defect structure of the films is studied by analyzing the photoluminescence spectra. Current-voltage characteristics of the films with different Cd and Cu contents in the Cd1-xCuxS nanocrystals embedded into the polymer matrix, deposited on glass substrates are measured in the dark and under light illumination. The film conductivity is found to increase with the Cu content in the Cd1-xCuxS nanocrystals. The carrier transport corresponds to the Ohm law at low voltages and the space charge limited current (SCLC) or Poole-Frenkel mechanisms at higher ones. The conductivity of the polymer-based hybrid nanocomposite films has a weak dependence on the intensity of light illumination. The explanation of the obtained experimental results is proposed.