Preparation of poly(3-hexylthiophene)/graphene nanocomposite via in situ reduction of modified graphite oxide sheets

Poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT)/graphene nanocomposites were facilely prepared via an in situ reduction of modified graphite oxide (mGO) in the presence of P3HT. The chemical and aggregated structures of the P3HT/mGO nanocomposites were successfully characterized by means of atomic force microscope (AFM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), photoluminescence (PL), Raman spectra, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and UV-vis measurements. Coated by P3HT, reduced modified graphite oxide (re-mGO) could significantly improve their processing problem in common organic solvent. It was shown that P3HT chains were attached to re-mGO sheets closely and there existed the pi-pi interaction between P3HT and re-mGO. The P3HT/mGO nanocomposites exhibited good dispersion in chloroform and show high storage stability (>20 days). This finding provides an efficient method for fabricating a light energy conversion materials with new optical and electrical properties, combining excellent mechanics, heat-stabilization properties of graphene and excellent optical, electrical, processing and film forming properties of soluble polythiophene materials.