Semiconducting properties of thin films with embedded nanoparticles

We demonstrate here the possibility of designing semiconducting thin films with controlled electrochemical properties. The thin films are composed of (i) an insulating binder and (ii) a semiconductor nanopowder which enables the fine tuning of the semiconducting properties of the layers. Thus, p- and n-type silicon particles (obtained from a top-down technique), or metal-oxide ZnO, SnO2 and NiO nanoparticles (synthesized using a bottom-up protocol) are successfully integrated into spin-coated or screen-printed thin films and used as semiconducting materials. The flat band potential (Vfb) of the films is then easily tuned from 0 V to −1.138 V.