Enhancement of charge transport properties of a novel rubbery semiconductor via silver nanocomplexing

Abstract Iodine doped natural rubber (NRI) is a novel and inexpensive organic semiconducting material. Its charge transport properties are comparable to those of widely used expensive organic semiconductor, poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl). This report describes the efforts made to improve the charge transport properties of NRI material for the first time. For this, different concentrations of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) are synthesised and added to the semiconducting natural rubber. The charge transport mobility of NRI and NRI-Ag nanocomposites are investigated using impedance spectroscopy and discussed in the context of Highest Occupied Molecular Orbital (HOMO) and Lowest Unoccupied Molecular Orbital (LUMO) levels of the material. It is investigated that NRI+25%Ag NPs shows the smallest electrochemical bandgap and enhanced mobility than all other composites. These results demonstrate the application potential of this inexpensive material in electronic industries.