Enhanced electrochemical performance of PANI/PVP/Mn 0.30 Fe 2.70 /TiO 2 nanocomposite thin film: impact of PANI composition

Polyaniline (PANI)/polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)/Mn0.3Fe2.7O4/TiO2 nanocomposite thin film was successfully synthesized via the doctor blade method. The results of XRD characterization show that the crystal structure of the samples indicated the presence of Mn0.3Fe2.7O4 and TiO2 diffraction peaks and PANI semicrystals. The crystal size of Mn0.3Fe2.7O4 increased with the increase in PANI composition and was inversely proportional to the decrease in crystal size of TiO2. The saturation magnetization of the samples decreased as the mass composition of PANI increased. The design of PANI addition also affected the reduction in the sample band-gap energy from 3.78 eV to 2.87 eV, which caused the increase in electron excitation motion. Through simulator tests, the performance of dye-sensitized solar cells based on the PANI/PVP/Mn0.3Fe2.7O4/TiO2 nanocomposite thin film exhibited the best performance in reaching the optimum PANI composition. Thus, the PANI/PVP/Mn0.3Fe2.7O4/TiO2 nanocomposite thin film has good potential to be applied in solar cell applications.