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Electrical bistability and charge-transport mechanisms in cuprous sulfide nanosphere-poly(N-vinylcarbazole) composite films

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Abstract

In this study, electrically bistable devices were fabricated by incorporating cuprous sulfide (Cu2S) nanospheres with mean size less than 10 nm into a poly(N-vinylcarbazole) (PVK) matrix. A remarkable electrical bistability was clearly observed in the current–voltage curves of the devices due to an electric-field-induced charge transfer between the dodecanethiol-capped Cu2S nanospheres and PVK. The maximum ON/OFF current ratio reached up to value as large as 104, which was dependent on the mass ratios of Cu2S nanospheres to PVK, the amplitude of the scanning voltages, and the film thickness. The charge-transport mechanisms of the electrically bistable devices were described on the basis of the experimental results using different theoretical models of organic electronics.

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Acknowledgments

This study was partly supported by the NSFC Projects (Nos. 61108063, 61077022), and the Natural Science Foundation for Distinguished Young Scholars of China (Nos. 61125505, 60825407), and the Fundamental Research Fund for Beijing JiaoTong University (2010JBZ006, 2011JBM301). One of the authors (A.W.) is also grateful to China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (201003148).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Luminescence and Optical Information, Ministry of Education, School of Science, Beijing JiaoTong University, Beijing, 100044, People’s Republic of China

    Aiwei Tang, Feng Teng, Jie Liu, Yichao Wang, Hongshang Peng, Yanbing Hou & Yongsheng Wang

  2. Department of Chemistry, School of Science, Beijing JiaoTong University, Beijing, 100044, People’s Republic of China

    Aiwei Tang

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  1. Aiwei Tang
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  2. Feng Teng
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  3. Jie Liu
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  4. Yichao Wang
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  5. Hongshang Peng
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  6. Yanbing Hou
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  7. Yongsheng Wang
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Correspondence to Aiwei Tang or Feng Teng.

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Tang, A., Teng, F., Liu, J. et al. Electrical bistability and charge-transport mechanisms in cuprous sulfide nanosphere-poly(N-vinylcarbazole) composite films. J Nanopart Res 13, 7263–7269 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-011-0640-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-011-0640-4

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