Doping effect of viologen on photoconductive device made of poly (p-phenylenevinylene)

We report the photovoltaic properties of the donor-acceptor composite system of poly (p-phenylenevinylene) (PPV) and viologen. We observed the significant enhancement of photocurrent with increasing the doping ratio of viologen. The maximum photocurrent of viologen-doped PPV was nine times as high as that of the pristine PPV. The maximum quantum yield and photosensitivity are 13% (electron/photon) and 0.05 A/W, respectively, at low bias voltage (-2 V). The increase of photocurrent is explained with the efficient charge separation that resulted from the transfer of photoexcited electrons from PPV to viologen. The mixture of PPV and viologen can be used as a sensitive photodiode material. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics.