Effect of reaction time on the structure and optical properties of P3HT/MWCNT-OH nanocomposites

Abstract

In the present study, stereoregular poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (P3HT) coated hydroxylated multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT-OH) nanocomposites were prepared over different reaction times of non-covalent functionalization. The reaction time was set as 24, 48, 72, 96, and 120 hours. The structure and optical characteristics of nanocomposites were analyzed using Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) and ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy, respectively. Reaction time affected prepared nanocomposites by decreasing the intensity of the P3HT/MWCNT-OH peaks gradually with increasing of the reaction time. Comparing with the pure P3HT and MWCNT-OH, the calculated energy band gap and the Urbach energy of the nanocomposites were reduced proportionally as the reaction time reached 120 hours and achieved 2.60 and 0.329 eV, respectively.