Investigation of the SiNWs concentration and annealing effects on the structural, morphological and optical properties of P3HT: SiNWs nanocomposite

Silicon nanowires (SiNWs), with different ratios, have been elaborated by metal assisted chemical etching (MACE) on P3HT:SiNWs blends, deposited onto PET substrate. X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and hotoluminescence (PL) measurements have been used to control the structural, morphological and optical properties of the investigated structure. The best concentration chosen is followed by an annealing treatment. Our results prove that the optimal structure is obtained with the nanocomposite P3HT:SiNWs (1:1). The moderate annealing temperature, around 90 °C, is most appropriate. A correlation between XRD, AFM and PL measurements can explain the decrease of charge transfer and the coupled of SiNWs with increasing concentration. Our results can improve the possibility to integrate those kinds of structures as an active layer in the photovoltaic applications. (paper)