Electrosynthesis and analysis of the electrochemical properties of a composite material: Polyterthiophene + titanium oxide

Abstract

A polyterthiophene-titanium oxide (P3T+TiO2) composite material was electrochemically synthesized in dichloromethane-tetrabutylammonium perchlorate CH2Cl2/TBAP containing a monomer (terthiophene) and semiconductor (TiO2) nanoparticles. The obtained material was characterized using electrochemical methods (cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy) and spectrometry analysis [scanning electron microscopy (SEM), spectrophotometer ultraviolet (UV)-visible, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and force atomic microscopy (AFM)]. The effect of TiO2 nanoparticles on the photoelectrochemical and optical characteristics of P3T composite films was also studied. The results confirmed the presence of TiO2 nanoparticles in the polyterthiophene matrix. The surface morphology of the (P3T+TiO2) composite films revealed that adding TiO2 nanoparticles increase the film's roughness values. The addition of TiO2 nanoparticles improve the absorbance of P3T composite films. Moreover, the photocurrent of the composite increased with the TiO2 nanoparticles concentration and showed that this composite material could be used in photoelectrochemical applications such as photovoltaic cells.