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Correlation between composition, morphology and optical properties of PVK:n-ZnO:CTAB thin films

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Abstract

In this study, we report on the effect of zinc oxide nanoparticles (n-ZnO) content and surfactant addition on the performance of poly (N-vinylcarbazole) (PVK):n-ZnO nanocomposite thin films. Morphological and optical properties of ZnO, PVK and PVK:n-ZnO:cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) hybrid films were investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM), UV–Visible spectrophotometry and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. We noticed that surface morphology was very dependent on surfactant addition into inorganic and organic components and on the ZnO content in the mixture. The optical absorption spectra of PVK:n-ZnO thin films showed a red shift of the optical band gap energy. Besides, PL measurements demonstrated an interfacial charge transfer between PVK matrix and ZnO nanoparticles through the reduced PL intensity of nanocomposites compared to PVK thin films.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Tunisian ministry of higher education and scientific research in the context of the Tunisian–Algerian academic cooperation project CAT-50.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Equipe des Hydrures Métalliques, Laboratoire de Mécanique, Matériaux et Procédés, Ecole Nationale Supérieure d’Ingénieurs de Tunis (ENSIT (Ex ESSTT)), Université de Tunis, 5 Avenue Taha Hussein, 1008, Tunis, Tunisia

    Samir Azizi & Sarra Zargouni

  2. Laboratoire NANOMISENE LR16CRMN01, Centre de Recherche en Microélectronique et Nanotechnologie du Technopole de Sousse (CRMNS), B.P 334, Sahloul, 4054, Sousse, Tunisia

    Marwa Belhaj & Cherif Dridi

  3. Laboratoire des interfaces et des matériaux avancés, Faculté des Sciences de Monastir, 5000, Monastir, Tunisia

    Marwa Belhaj & Cherif Dridi

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  1. Samir Azizi
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Correspondence to Samir Azizi.

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Azizi, S., Belhaj, M., Zargouni, S. et al. Correlation between composition, morphology and optical properties of PVK:n-ZnO:CTAB thin films. Appl. Phys. A 123, 475 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-017-1095-y

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