Incorporation of inorganic nanoparticles into an organic polymer matrix for data storage application

The demand of polymer nanocomposite based energy storage devices is in ever increasing stage. Present work demonstrates the application of hybrid polymer nanocomposite (CdSe nanoparticles embedded in poly(N-vinyl carbazole) (PVK) matrix) for data storage devices. CdSe/PVK nanocomposite has been successfully synthesized by ex-situ chemical method. From X-Ray diffraction analysis, Zinc blende structure of CdSe nanoparticles with (111), (220) and (311) cubic crystal planes has been observed. TEM micrograph of CdSe/PVK nanocomposite shows the spherical CdSe nanoparticles having average particle size 6-7 nm, homogeneously dispersed in PVK matrix. CdSe/PVK nanocomposite shows photoluminescence due to the CdSe nanoparticles and p-PVK conformation of PVK. The average surface roughness of the nanocomposite film calculated by using AFM analysis is 45.12 nm. Two-terminal conductivity switching device, structured Al/(CdSe/PVK)/Ag, has been fabricated and characterized. Conductivity switching is due to electron trapping and tunnelling in CdSe nanoparticles and through PVK matrix, respectively. Write-read-erase cycles show a good stability of the device with ON/OFF ratio ∼104. Obtained results reveal the application of CdSe/PVK nanocomposite in data storage devices.