Preparation and characterization of in situ electrospun ZnS nanoparticles/PPV nanofibers

Abstract

Purpose – This paper aimed to prepare a kind of ZnS nanoparticles/poly(phenylene vinylene) (PPV) nanofibre and investigate its properties. Because the ZnS nanoparticles are important optoelectronic materials, their incorporation into one-dimensional (1D) nanoscale polymer matrices should be a meaningful subject for electrospinning. Design/methodology/approach – ZnS/PPV composite nanofibres with an average diameter of 600 nm were successfully prepared by a combination of the in situ method and electrospinning technique. The nanofibres were electrospun from Zn(CH3COO)2·2H2O and PPV precursor composite solution, and the ZnS/PPV fibres were obtained by exposure of the electrospun fibres to H2S gas to prepare ZnS nanoparticles in situ. Such fibres were characterised using X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared, transmission electron microscope (TEM), scanning electron microscope and photoluminescence (PL). The photoelectric properties of the fibres obtained were also investigated. Findings – XRD patterns proved that ZnS nanocrystals generated in the composite nanofibres. The TEM image showed that the nanocrystals were homogeneously dispersed in the nanofibres. The PL spectrum of ZnS/PPV composite nanofibres exhibited a blue shift relative to the PPV nanofibres. I-V curve of the single nanofibre device under 5.76 mW/cm2 light illumination showed that the composite nanofibres have good photoelectric properties. Research limitations/implications – The comparisons of advantages between ZnS/PPV nanofibres with similar nanofibres will be further expanded in a later research. Practical implications – Results demonstrate the promise of these novel nanostructures as ultraminiature photodetectors with the potential for integration into future hybrid nanophotonic devices and systems. Originality/value – The integration of inorganic semiconductor nanoparticles into organic conjugated polymers leads to composite materials with unique physical properties and important application potential. In this work, ZnS nanoparticles were introduced into PPV by an in situ method, so as to obtain a kind of novel 1D nanomaterials with good photoelectric properties.