Photorefractive performance of polymer composite sensitized by CdSe nanoparticles passivated by 1-hexadecylamine

The performance of a photorefractive polymer composite sensitized by 1-hexadecylamine capped CdSe nanoparticles is reported. The polymer composite also comprises the charge transporting matrix poly(N-vinylcarbazole) and the electro-optic chromophore 1-(2-ethylhexyloxy)-2,5-dimethyl-4-(4-nitrophenylazo) benzene. At an applied field of 70 V μ m−1 two beam coupling gain of 13.2 cm−1 was observed, confirming the photorefractive nature of the induced grating. At the same field, a holographic contrast of 9.12×10−4±6×10−6, a photorefractive sensitivity of 5.1×10−4 ±0.2×10−4 cm3 J−1 and a space-charge field rise time of 13±1 s were obtained.