Rectification effect in poly-p-xylylene-cadmium sulfide graded nanocomposites

The hybrid poly-p-xylylene-cadmium sulfide nanocomposites characterized by gradients of concentrations and sizes of CdS nanoparticles along the lines of an applied electric field have been synthesized using the vapor deposition polymerization in an inhomogeneous electric field. The maximum concentration of cadmium sulfide can exceed 10 vol %, while the average effective sizes of the nanoparticles depend on the concentration and do not exceed 5 nm. The synthesized thin-film nanocomposites exhibit a quantum confinement effect. According to the estimates obtained from the shift of the absorption band edge, the radius of nanoparticles is 2.7 nm near the negative electrode and 3.5 nm near the positive electrode. It has been found that the sample formed in an electric field of 10 kV/cm manifests a rectification effect, which can be associated with the gradient of nanoparticle sizes. The measurements of current-voltage characteristics and photoconductivity have demonstrated that the synthesized samples possess high photoconductivity. The photocurrent in the sample prepared in an electric field of 10 kV/cm can exceed the dark current by two orders of magnitude, and the rectification effect in this case disappears.