Photorefractive properties in poly(N-vinylcarbazole)/CdSe nanocomposites through chemical hybridization

Abstract

This letter reports on an organic/inorganic hybridized polymer system that combines semiconductor inorganic nanoparticles, a conjugated poly(N-vinylcarbazole) (PVK) polymer, and 4-(4-nitrophenylazo) chromophores to manifest a photorefractive effect. PVK nanocomposites doped with cadmium selenide (CdSe) nanoparticles were prepared through chemical hybridization and their optical properties were characterized. The photorefractive effects in the prepared PVK/CdSe nanocomposite systems were directly compared with those of a similar PVK/CdSe nanoblend system. Significant enhancement of the gain coefficient was observed in the PVK/CdSe nanocomposite system relative to the PVK/CdSe nanoblend system.