Specific features of the temperature characteristics of electrical conductivity and photoconductivity of polymer composites containing Cu(II)/Cr(III) heterometallic complexes

The temperature characteristics of the electric current and the photocurrent in films of composites based on electrically neutral poly(vinyl butyral) with additions of Cu(II)/Cr(III) heterometallic cation-anion complexes are investigated. The electrical conductivity and photoconductivity of the polymer composite films in the visible optical range increase with a decrease in the distance between the metal centers in the complexes and upon introduction of acceptor additions of the C₆₀ fullerene into the composition of the polymer binder and increase exponentially with increasing temperature. The activation energy of electrical conduction and photoconduction exceeds 1 eV and depends weakly on the strength of the external electric field. The temperature characteristics of the electrical conductivity and photoconductivity of the materials under investigation are explained by the specific features of trapping of charge carriers at the interface between particles of the heterometallic complex and the polymer binder.