Synergetic effects of polyanilne/poly(methyl methacrylate)/carbon nanotubes in nanocomposite polymer substrate electrodes for solar energy applications

Abstract

Unique polyaniline (PANI)/poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)/multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) nanocomposite polymer sub-strate electrodes (NPSEs) were prepared usingin situpolymerization.PMMA microbeads (10mm) were also added as fillers inside theNPSEs during polymerization. Different weight percentages ofMWCNTs (1, 2, and 5 wt.%) were added to the NPSEs. The surfacemorphology of the PANI/PMMA/MWCNTs NPSEs was studied byscanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared, and X-raydiffraction. Thermal stability was studied by thermo-gravimetric anal-yses and differential thermal analysis. Meanwhile, the four-probeanalyzer and the solar simulator determined the electrical conductiv-ities and photovoltaic parameters of the NPSEs based solar devices.The synthesized NPSEs with optimized compositions PANI/PMMA(1%)–MWCNTs (5%) showed superior photovoltaic performancealong with improved thermal and electrical conductivities. Therefore,these NPSEs possess a future potential for the fabrication of solardevices in the field of solar energy applications