Photovoltaic Effect in a Composite involving the Nonconjugated Conductive Polymer, Poly($\beta $-pinene) and C$_{60}$

Photovoltaic effect in a composite involving a nonconjugated conductive polymer, poly($\beta $-pinene) and C$_{60}$ will be reported. The photovoltaic cell was fabricated using indium tin oxide coated glass as one electrode and aluminum as the other, with a poly($\beta $-pinene)-C$_{60}$ composite film sandwiched between the electrodes. Nitrogen laser (emission at 325 nm) and illuminant white light bulbs (emission at 300-700nm) were used as the light sources and the photo-voltage produced was recorded for different light intensities. The photo-voltage produced had a linear dependence on the light intensity. About 100 mV was generated for an intensity of $\sim $ 4mW/cm$^{2}$. Pristine poly($\beta $-pinene) has a photoluminescence peak at 360 nm for excitation at 280 nm. As we have observed, this photoluminescence is quenched when C$_{60}$ is added to poly($\beta $-pinene) to form the composite. Therefore, the observed photovoltaic effect appears to be a result of excited-state electron transfer from poly($\beta $-pinene) to C$_{60}$.