Synthesis and photoelectric property of poly(3-octylthiophene)/ferric oxide complexes

Ferric oxide was prepared by the supercritical fluid drying (SCFD) method. A conducting polymer composite, poly(3-octylthiophene)/ferric oxide (POT/Fe₂O₃) was first synthesized through the chemical method. X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), and Infrared spectroscopy (IR) show that there is a chemical interaction in the composite, which indicates that Fe₂O₃ was successfully coated by poly(3-octylthiophene) molecules. The energy gap of the poly(3-octylthiophene)/ferric oxide composite is lower at 0.448 eV, which also shows that the optical performance of the new material is far superior to POT or Fe₂O₃ separately, by Ultraviolet–Visible spectra (UV–Vis) and fluorescence spectroscopy (PL). Solar cell was sensitized by POT/Fe₂O₃. A solar-to-electric energy conversion efficiency of 0.258% was attained with the system.