Synthesis and photoelectric property of poly (3-methoxythiophene)/titanium dioxide complexes

Titanium dioxide was prepared by the supercritical fluid drying (SCFD) method. A series of conducting polymer complexes of poly (3-methoxythiophene) and titanium dioxide (PMOT/TiO2) in different proportions were first synthesized by chemical method. X-ray diffraction (XRD) indicated that the interplanar spacing of the composite samples is smaller than the pure TiO2, defining that TiO2 was successfully coated by poly (3-methoxythiophene) molecules. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Infrared spectroscopy (IR) support a chemical interaction between PMOT and nano-TiO2 in the complexes. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) showed that the energy gap of the PMOT/TiO2 composite was 0.261 eV, which was the smallest when the proportion was 1:1, realizing the complementary advantages of n and p semiconductor. Ultraviolet–visible spectra (UV–vis) and luminescence spectra (PL) showed that optical performance was far superior to both PMOT and TiO2. Solar cell was sensitized by PMOT/TiO2. A solar-to-electric energy conversion efficiency of 0.385% was attained with the system.