CdSe (quantum dots)–graphene oxide system for thiophene polymerization: a new strategy, a new material

Abstract

This study presents a novel method for the oxidative polymerization of thiophene (T) by employing cadmium selenide (CdSe) quantum dots and CdSe–graphene oxide (GO) as activators of the polymerization system. The polymerization initiation mechanism is based on the difference between the HOMO–LUMO energy levels of the components, which permits the formation of a donor–acceptor exchange. Thus, T should act both as acceptor and donor for a component with suitable HOMO–LUMO energy levels. We have investigated the polymerization reaction evolution as well as the molecular weights of the obtained polymers. The resulting materials containing PT, CdSe quantum dots and GO have been characterized by FTIR, UV-vis, fluorescence, HRTEM, conductivity and AFM analyses.