Modification of the electrical properties of PEDOT:PSS by the incorporation of ZnO nanoparticles synthesized by laser ablation

Laser ablation of a solid target in a liquid environment offers an easy, fast, and environmentally friendly method for the generation of nanoparticles with desired properties. In this Letter we report modification of the electrical properties of PEDOT:PSS (poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene): poly(4-styrenesulfonate)) by the incorporation into it of ZnO nanoparticles which were synthesized by laser ablation. By forming the nanocomposite, change of the chemical structure of the polymer from a mixture of benzoid and quinoid to a mostly quinoid and a conformational change of the polymer chains from coil to expanded-coil or linear was observed. Furthermore, these changes result in an increase by almost twice of the electrical conductivity of the polymer. (C) 2009 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.