Dependence of the carrier mobility and trapped charge limited conduction on silver nanoparticles embedment in doped polypyrrole nanostructures

The present article demonstrates an intensive study upon the temperature dependent current density (J)-voltage (V) characteristics of moderately doped polypyrrole nanostructure and its silver nanoparticles incorporated nanocomposites. Analysis of the measured J-V characteristics of different synthesized nano-structured samples within a wide temperature range revealed that the electrical conduction behavior followed a trapped charge-limited conduction and a transition of charge transport mechanism from deep exponential trap limited conduction to shallow traps limited conduction had been occurred due to the incorporation of silver nanoparticles within the polypyrrole matrix. A direct evaluation of carrier mobility as a function of electric field and temperature from the measured J-V characteristics illustrates that the incorporation of silver nanoparticles within the polypyrrole matrix enhances the carrier mobility at a large extent by reducing the concentration of traps within the polypyrrole matrix. The calculated mobility is consistent with the Poole-Frenkel form for the electrical field up to a certain temperature range. The nonlinear low temperature dependency of mobility of all the nanostructured samples was explained by Mott variable range hopping conduction mechanisms. Quantitative information regarding the charge transport parameters obtained from the above study would help to extend optimization strategies for the fabrication of new organic semiconducting nano-structured devices. (C) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.