Abstract

Nanocomposites of polyaniline (PANI) and the semiconducting metal sulfides CdS and Cu₂S were prepared from the respective metal trifluoromethanesulfonates co-dissolved in N-methylpyrrolidone. Metal sulfide particles with typical diameters of 1–2 nm formed in situ upon addition of Li₂S; the nanocomposites were subsequently isolated by co-precipitation. UV/VIS absorption spectra suggest that the PANI–CdS nanocomposites are stable in the air, while PANI was found to degrade in the presence of Cu₂S. Appreciable photovoltaic effects were measured on multilayer devices based on Al/nanocomposite/Cd_1 − xZn_xO and Al/nanocomposite/C₆₀/Cd_1 − xZn_xO. In the absence of the C₆₀ layer, both open circuit photovoltage (U_oc) and short circuit photocurrent (I_sc) were found to increase substantially with increasing CdS content, while in the presence of a C₆₀ layer, more complex behavior was observed.