Enhanced optical and electrical properties of PEDOT:PSS/Gold nanocomposite system

In this paper, we report modification of the electrical and optical properties of widely used transparent conducting polymer, PEDOT:PSS by the incorporation of gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) synthesized using aloe barbadensis leaf extract as reducing agent. The variation of workfunction of the PEDOT:PSS with Au Nanoparticles content is investigated and it has been seen that the work function of PEDOT:PSS can be tuned by incorporating nanoparticles. Further the optical absorption of the composite is found to be increasing considerably in the visible region. It has been demonstrated that there exists an optimum weight percentage of Au NPs for the composite formation with highest workfunction and enhanced light absorption in the visible region than pristine PEDOT:PSS.