Fabrication of Ag Nanorods-Embedded P3HT/PCBM Films for the Enhancement of Light Absorption

We report a facile method for preparing hybrid nanostructured films composed of poly(3-hexlythiophene) (P3HT) and [6,6]-phenylC61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) with silver (Ag) nanorods (AgNRs) array. The AgNRs were synthesized by an electrochemical deposition method using an anodic aluminum oxide template with 50-nm-pore-diameter and 10-μm-thickness. The nanostructured P3HT/PCBM film was formed by the intercalation of AgNRs into the P3HT/PCBM film. The nanostructured P3HT/PCBM film with AgNRs showed enhanced optical absorption in the spectral range of 300–650 nm due to localized surface plasmon resonance and scattering effects around the AgNRs compared with spin-coated and nanopatterned P3HT/PCBM films without AgNRs. © The Author(s) 2015. Published by ECS. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives 4.0 License (CC BY-NC-ND, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is not changed in any way and is properly cited. For permission for commercial reuse, please email: oa@electrochem.org. [DOI: 10.1149/2.0021504ssl] All rights reserved.