Enhanced rectification through polymer-gold nanoparticle interaction

In this paper we report the fabrication of a new nanocomposite based on poly(m-phenylenevinylene-co-2,5-dioctoxy-p-phenlenevinylene) (PmPV) and gold (PmPV-gold) nanoparticles. Characterization of this new material using UV–visible absorption spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and near-field scanning optical microscopy showed encapsulation of the gold nanoparticles (∼20 nm) by the polymer. Wrapping of gold nanoparticles by the polymer provided higher quality electrical characteristics than the polymer alone, indicated by superior rectification and Schottky diode characteristics with ideality factors of 27.69 and 1.32 for pure PmPV and PmPV-gold nanocomposite cells, respectively. Barrier heights, calculated from the reverse saturation current, were 0.865 and 0.559 eV for PmPV and PmPV-gold nanocomposite cells, respectively.