Impediment of photo-oxidation in PPV nanocomposites doped by metal-coated silica nanoparticles

We prepared poly(p-phenylenevinylene) nanocomposites doped with gold-coated silica (SiO2–Au) nanoparticles and characterized photoluminescent properties of the nanocomposite films. The optical resonance of SiO2–Au nanoparticles is specifically designed to interact with the triplet excitons of poly(p-phenylenevinylene), which was reported elsewhere [J. Colloid Interf. Sci., submitted for publication]. The rate of photo-oxidation in poly(p-phenylenevinylene) was drastically reduced by doping with SiO2–Au nanoparticles, as expected. This effect has important implications on the enhancement of lifetimes in conjugated polymer-based optoelectronic devices.