Some experimental results on polyN-vinylcarbazole-buckminsterfullerene (C60) nanocomposite system

A nanocomposite of polyN-vinylcarbazole (PNVC) with buckminsterfullerene (BMF, C60) was isolated from the N-vinylcarbazole (NVC)-BMF polymerization system. Formation of PNVC and its incorporation in the C60-PNVC composite network was confirmed by FTIR spectral analysis. Scanning electron microscopic analysis of PNVC-C60 composite revealed formation of almost spherical composite particles with average diameter in the range of 50 nm. Ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopic (absorption) studies suggested a weak charge-transfer interaction between C60 and PNVC moieties in the PNVC-C60 composite system. Interestingly, however, emission spectroscopic (fluorescence) studies confirmed the absence of any charge-transfer interaction between C60 and PNVC moieties in the C60-PNVC nanocomposite system and an explanation to interpret the phenomenon has been proposed.