Tellurium-Poly(methyl methacrylate) nanocomposite materials

Fine powders composed of tellurium grains of average size less than 10 nm were produced by dry vibration milling combined with liquid-phase sedimentation techniques, starting from polycrystalline powders with average grain diameter of ca. 30 μm. A novel nanocomposite material was obtained by binding the nanosized tellurium grains with poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), using a solvent mediated method. The morphological, structural and electrical properties of Te/PMMA nanocomposite films were investigated. The Raman spectroscopy points out that the prepared material was composed of Te and TeO2 crystalline phases. Infrared spectroscopy analysis indicates that the milled powder contained an increased amount of tellurium oxide as compared to the “as received” powder. The electrical properties of the films were studied in dark condition and under white light illumination turning on and off the light cyclically. Te/PMMA nanocomposite films show a linear behavior of the photocurrent under white light illumination varying the optical power density of about three order of magnitude (2-1,608 mW/cm2). The observed photoconductivity properties [1-3] make the fabricated Te/PMMA material exploitable for plastic electronic applications [4].