Investigations into Ag nanoparticles-carbon-poly(9,9-di-n-octylfluorenyl-2,7-diyl) (PFO) composite: morphological, structural, optical, and electrical characterization

The incorporation of different materials can improve the properties of conductive polymers to become composites. This paper studies the morphological, structural, optical, and electrical effects of adding different weight ratios of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs)-carbon (C) mixture into poly(9,9-di-n-octylfluorenyl-2,7-diyl) (PFO) polymer by a low-cost and straightforward method. The thin films are prepared by drop-casting the prepared composite onto silicon substrates. Transmission electron microscopy shows Ag NPs embedded into the carbon. Field emission scanning electron microscopy images show increased Ag NPs-carbon particle size in PFO. The weight ratio increases due to aggregation, consistent with decreasing band gap trend from the Tauc plot. Ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy shows a redshift pattern of the central peak of PFO as the weight ratio increases. Photoluminescence and Raman spectra show that Ag NPs-carbon mixture increases beta-phase percentage in PFO due to poor solvent effect. Lastly, the 10% Ag NPs-carbon-PFO sample exhibits the highest electrical conductivity among the three samples studied. A proposed schematic diagram shows how Ag NPs-C particles influence the morphology of the PFO chain and electrical properties of PFO-Ag NPs-C composite.