Carboxymethyl cellulose/graphene oxide nanocomposite semiconductor for potential energy applications

The present research produced a new nanocomposite based on carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and graphene oxide (GO) for application in energy devices. A modified Hummers' method and two modifiers (UV radiation and heat temperature) were used. The nanocomposite was characterized by spectroscopies (FTIR, RAMAN, UV Vis), X-ray diffraction, morphological (SEM, TEM, DLS), and surface charge (ZP). In addition, PL and PLE optical, and Electrical analyses based on the thermionic emission theory of Schottky diodes using a characteristic curve (I-V) by two modifiers (UV radiation and heat temperature) at different times were performed. The results showed that G, 2D, and D bands are presented. Moreover, the size was (10.81 ± 2.80) nm with a negative surface charge (-30.0 ± 4) mV. Furthermore, PL and PLE showed properties depending on the wavelength, with 2-3 eV band gaps. This research showed that the behavior of nanocomposites is very similar to that of silicon diodes. The nanocomposite performance is very close to the active components (batteries, photocells) analyzed most of the time, mainly because of the high values of ideality factor (≥1.82) depending on the modifier used. Thus, this nanocomposite has a high potential for a silicon photocell substitute.