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Preparation of Polyvinyl Alcohol and Cadmium Telluride Nanoparticles for Solar Cell Application
A. A. Elamin, A. Almalki and Y. H. Elbashar
In the present work, nanocomposite membranes of polyvinyl alcohol and CdTe nanoparticles have been prepared by a casting technique. The CdTe concentrations were 0, 3, 6, 9, 12, and 15 wt. %. The electrical properties of nanocomposites were studied. Experimental results showed that increasing the concentration of CdTe nanoparticles and increasing the temperature increases the DC electrical conductivity. The activation energy for DC electrical conductivity decreased with increasing concentrations of CdTe nanoparticles, as evidenced by the results obtained. The absorption spectra of PVA-CdTe nanocomposite thin films were analyzed in the wavelength range from 400 nm to 800 nm. The U.V. spectrum shows a blue shift compared to the bulk sample, which indicates a quantum confinement effect in CdTe nanoparticles. The bandgap shift from standard bulk bandgap energy confirms the nanostructure of the CdTe concentrations prepared. In addition, PVA-CdTe has a direct energy band gap that has lowered from 2.75 eV for (pure PVA) to 1.8 eV for the 15 wt. % CdTe sample.
Keywords: Nanocomposite, nanoparticles, electrical properties, polymer