Photovoltaic Properties of Polymeric Film Composites with Ni(II), Co(II), and Cu(II) Complexes

The photovoltaic and photoconductive properties of film composites of a copolymer of styrene with octyl methacrylate and additions of the monomer (Z)-2-(4-methylthiazol-2-yl)-2-(pyrrolidin-2-ylidene)acetonitrile (HL) and complexes of NiL2, CoL2, and CuL2 were investigated. It was established that these composites have hole-type photoconductivity while the inner photoeffect is determined by photogeneration of charge carriers from the HL monomers and by transport of nonequilibrium charge carriers among these monomers. The photovoltaic response increases with the metal complexes in the following order: CuL2, NiL2, CoL2.