Conductive Behavior of High TiO2 Nanoparticle Content of Inorganic/Organic Nanostructured Composites

Amphiphilic polystyrene-b-poly(ethylene oxide) (PS-b-PEO) diblock copolymers with different block ratios were used as templates for the incorporation of a high content of titanium dioxide nanoparticles using the sol-gel method. Confinement of the inorganic part in the PEO block of the block copolymer allows the generation of nanostructured systems with a high nanoparticle content. As successfully demonstrated using tunneling atomic force microscopy, the investigated systems maintained the conductive properties of the TiO2 nanoparticles. The obtained results confirmed that with increasing TiO2 nanoparticle content, the local current value increased up to 15 pA, and this conductivity value strongly depended on the amount of the PEO block in the block copolymer template. Moreover, the results indicated that control of the ratio between the sol-gel and the PEO block allows the design of well-dispersed, conductive inorganic/organic hybrids with high inorganic content. These materials can provide attractive strategies in the field of dye-sensitized solar cells.