The effect of polyaniline addition on ZnO for the fabrication of high performance photodetection

Abstract

Abstract The effect of PAni loading (5 and 15%) on the properties (PAni-ZnO) composite was investigated. X-ray diffraction analysis confirms the hexagonal wurtzite-type ZnO crystal structure, while ZnO peaks’ intensity decreases with increasing PAni content. Field emission scanning microscopy observations indicate, in the absence of PAni, ZnO crystallizes as twinned hexagonal rod nanostructure; the size of crystals of ZnO-15%PAni is shorter along ZnO-5% PAni while the width of the crystals is larger with increasing concentration of PAni. The composites deposited onto glass, PET, and Si substrates revealed interesting characteristics for the fabricated photodetector devices. The photodetector based on ZnO-15%PAni / Si substrate demonstrates the best performance with a high gain of 43 and a sensitivity of 4962.