Graphene Surface Decorated with Hybrid Perovskite Nanoparticles for Radiation Detection and Photovoltaic Applications

Graphene-based polymer nanocomposites are increasing more utilized for their ability to modify mechanical and opto-electronic properties of low-cost polymeric materials with relative ease. Additionally, graphene is well-suited to functionalization through chemical modification. Combination of functionalized graphene and traditional wet chemical nanoparticle synthesis methods has facilitated the creation of a whole host of surface-decorated graphene-based nanomaterials. The focus of this work is on the use of amine-functionalized graphene as a capping agent during synthesis of hybrid perovskite nanoparticles (HOIPNPs) to create graphene surface-decorated with HOIPNPs. HOIP materials have an easily tunable bandgap, ambipolar charge carrier transport, and are capable of attenuation of x-ray/gamma photons; which make them ideal candidates for solar cells and radiation detecting applications. HOIPNPs surface-decorated graphene will be dispersed into polymeric solutions to create a polymer nanocomposite. Opto-electronic properties of the nanocomposite will be evaluated using spectroscopic techniques paired with IV-sweeps. Morphology and chemical phase information will be assessed using atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy.