Carbon based hybrid nanomaterials: overview and challenges ahead

Abstract

In recent years, many new materials have been developed and prepared to improve the performance of light-harvesting technologies and to develop new and attractive applications. The problem of stability of long-term operation of various optoelectronic devices based on organic materials, both conjugated polymers and small molecules of organic semiconductors (SMOSs), is becoming relevant now. One way to solve this problem is to use carbon nanostructures, such as carbon nanotubes and a large family of graphene-based materials, which have enhanced stability, in carefully designed nanohybrid or nanocomposite architectures that can be integrated into photosensitive layers and where their potential is not yet know fully disclosed. Recently, a new trend has been seen in this direction - the use of nanoscale materials for, first of all, the conversion of light into electricity. The main goal of this approach is to rationally design stable and highly efficient carbon-based hybrid nanomaterials for optoelectrical applications, namely light harvesting/electricity conversion, which can be implemented in real optoelectrical devices. In this review, we will discuss the theoretical and experimental foundations of the hybridization of carbon nanostructures (CNSs) with other materials to reveal new optoelectronic properties and provide an overview of existing examples in the literature that will predict interesting future perspectives for use in future devices.