Optical and nonlinear electrical properties of SnO2-polyaniline nanocomposites

Nanostructured tin dioxide (SnO2) is synthesized in the form of colloidal sol. Aniline monomer is polymerized in colloidal sol of SnO2 to prepare inorganic-organic hybrid nanocomposites. Optical band gap increases from 3.74 eV to 4.23 eV with increase of polyaniline concentration. The observed nonlinear current-voltage characteristics are satisfactorily explained using the Schottky type barriers. The temperature dependence of conductivity reveals three dimensional Mott's hopping process. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.