SL 16

PREPARATION AND ANALYSIS OF LEAD SULFIDE NANOCRYSTAL-POLYMER NANOCOMPOSITE FILMS FOR OPTOELECTRONIC APPLICATIONS

D.J. Asunskis, I.L. Bolotin, A.T. Wroble, A.M. Zachary, L. Hanley^*

Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607-7061, USA

Lead salt nanocrystals have been the subject of intense recent interest due to their potential applications in photovoltaics, near infrared sensors, and other optoelectronic devices. Lead sulfide (PbS) nanocrystal are usually prepared with polymers as nanocomposites using colloidal preparation technique, then spin-coated as films. However, a gaseous deposition method has been developed to directly prepare PbS-polymer nanocomposites in film form. PbS-polymer nanocomposite films are prepared by both colloidal and gaseous deposition methods. Valence-band and core-level X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy as well as transmission electron microscopy and UV/Vis optical absorption are then used to probe these different PbS-polymer nanocomposites. The relative advantages and disadvantages of colloidal vs. gaseous deposition for optoelectronic applications such nanocomposite films will be discussed.