New observations on the optical properties of PPV/TiO2 nanocomposites

Abstract The optical properties of poly(phenylenevinylene) (PPV)/TiO 2 nanocomposites, prepared from mixtures of PPV precursor and titanium butoxide ethanol solution in a sol–gel process, are investigated by UV–VIS, FT-IR, PL spectroscopy and TEM. The TEM images showed that the TiO 2 nano-aggregates took the form of a sphere and finally ellipsoid with an alignment, as the content of TiO 2 increased. FT-IR spectra indicated that the titanium butoxide hydrolyzed to form Ti organic compound, which can result in the alignment structure of TiO 2 nanoparticles; at the same time, PPV in TiO 2 matrix had the trans -PPV configuration. PL spectra revealed that the light emission of the PPV/TiO 2 nanocomposites was from PPV, and the relative intensity of the vibrant components changed with the formation of the TiO 2 alignment structure. These phenomena suggest that the TiO 2 matrix can form confined environments to control PPV molecular aggregate states and further effect the optical property of PPV.

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