Morphological and crystalline structural characteristics of PEDOT™/TiO2 nanocomposites for applications towards technology in electronic devices

Nanocomposites of Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene), Tetra Methacrylate (PEDOT™)/TiO2 were prepared and characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Scanning electron microscopy indicated highly dense surface morphology of the prepared samples. Transmission electron microscopy images indicated that the prepared samples have particle size comparable with those obtained by X-ray diffraction results. The crystallite sizes, lattice strain and other related physical parameters were calculated by using X-ray peak broadening analysis. Optical constants such as extinction coefficient and refractive index as well as dielectric constants were calculated for PEDOT™/TiO2 nanocomposite film using spectrophotometric measurements of both transmittance and reflectance in the wavelength range of 300–2400 nm. PEDOT™/TiO2 nanocomposite films/n-Si diodes were prepared by spin coating method. The electrical properties of the diodes were investigated at different temperatures in the range 300–375 K. The prepared diode showed a rectification characteristics and the rectification ratio was studied as a function of voltage at different temperatures. Temperature dependence of both ideality factor and barrier height was also investigated. High values of ideality factor confirmed the abnormality characteristics of the prepared diodes as compared to the conventional behavior of ideal diode.