Synthesis, characterization, and charge transport mechanism of polyaniline/ZnSe nanocomposites for promising optoelectronic applications

The elaboration of organic–inorganic nanohybrid compounds has demonstrated substantial attentiveness owing to an inclusive extent of potential applications in optoelectronic devices. Here, we report about the synthesis of novel hybrid compound based on polyaniline/ZnSe nanocomposites. The ZnSe nanoparticles are prepared by colloidal technique to get average particle size of 8.5 nm. The polyaniline was prepared in the presence of the ZnSe nanostructure. The structure and morphology of the prepared polyaniline/ZnSe nanocomposites were investigated by X‐ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The XRD implied that all patterns are corresponding to the semicrystalline polyaniline and ZnSe with cubic crystal structure. The SEM images revealed that the incorporation of the ZnSe into the polyaniline matrix leads to an increasing of the particles size. The optical features of the polyaniline/ZnSe nanocomposites are investigated by UV–Vis spectroscopy. The optical band gap of polyaniline is decreased from 3.42 to 2.92 eV with increasing the ZnSe content. The electrical conductivity measurement showed that the incorporation of the ZnSe into the polyaniline matrix increased the dc conductivity and decreased the activation energy. The charge transport mechanism belonged to the hopping conduction mechanism. The thermoelectric power measurement depicted that the majority carriers are holes. The mobility and the number of charge carriers are increased, while the potential barrier is decreased with increasing the ZnSe concentration into the polyaniline matrix. POLYM. COMPOS., 39:1724–1730, 2018. © 2016 Society of Plastics Engineers