The impregnated synthesis of polypyrrole into carbon aerogel and its applications to photovoltaic materials

Carbon aerogels were prepared by pyrolyzing resorcinol and formaldehyde polycondensates, which were obtained in aerogel form by supercritical drying with carbon dioxide. Polypyrrole was impregnated into the carbon aerogels to prepare the carbon/polypyrrole nanocomposites, in which the pyrrole had penetrated the micropores of the carbon aerogels under a reduced pressure and then was polymerized by chemical oxidation. The carbon aerogels were tested for applications as electron-accepting materials in organic photovoltaic devices. The carbon/polypyrrole nanocomposite samples were controlled by varying the molar ratio of the monomers, conditions for gellation, drying methods, and pyrrole content in dichloromethane. Diverse photovoltaic cells were fabricated using this carbon/polypyrrole bulk heterojunction and their photovoltaic properties were analyzed. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V All rights reserved.