Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 February 2011
It is well established that the dispersion of nanosized metal particles in a polymer matrix can induce non linear optical properties, yet very little is known about the effect of semiconducting transition metal oxide nanoparticles on both electrical and luminescence properties of conjugated polymers. In this paper, we report the synthesis of a nanostructured TiO2/poly(pphenylenevinylene) system and show by diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectrometry (DRIFTS) that a stable conjugated nanocomposite is obtained. Investigation of the photoluminescence (PL) properties reveals both a broadening and a blue shift of the emission spectra. Adsorption of oxygen is found to be stronger on the nanocomposite than on PPV and to reversibly quench the PL emission, thus suggesting enhanced gas sensing properties. A tentative mechanism explaining the role of n-TiO2 is briefly discussed.