Abstract

Biohybrid nanocomposite films were obtained through a simple two-step methodology. Films of chitosan/poly(3-hexylthiophene) (CS/P3HT) were used as polymer matrices for the in-situ synthesis and stabilization of CdSe quantum dots. The biohybrid materials were characterized by attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), Raman spectroscopy, UV–visible spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), and photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL). The effects of the P3HT composition on the properties of the QDs in the films were analyzed. The results confirmed that CS/P3HT films provided an adequately confining matrix for the growth of CdSe QDs with a fairly uniform size and revealed that the interactions between the CdSe nanoparticles and the CS/P3HT matrix mainly involved the OH and NH2 groups. The optical band gaps of the biohybrid nanocomposite films were estimated. The results of photoluminescence revealed that a charge transfer phenomenon occurred in the polymer system. Finally, theoretical analyses suggest that the CdSe QDs would be preferentially located onto the chitosan domains.