Matthew Ong!

112891!
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To state the importance of determining the bandgap of a material, we must first define what

Determining Bandgap of MEH-PPV film using UV-Vis Spectroscopy!

a band gap is. We can visualize a bandgap as an empty space between the valence band and the
conduction band band. So it can be represented by the energy difference between valence band
and the conduction band. For an electron to make the jump to the conduction band, it would
require a certain amount of energy and this amount is dictated by how large the gap is. Which then
brings us to its very importance. By the definitions alone we can infer that the conduction
properties of a material is somewhat dependent on its band gap. It has many applications
especially in semiconductors in which its conduction properties can be manipulated to satisfy the
intended purpose. !

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In this particular experiment, we used UV-vis Spectroscopy to determine the band gap of

MEH-PPV. By doing so we obtained raw data consisting of wavelengths and absorbances. Making
use of these values alone to obtain the band gap is not enough. A certain equation is needed in
order to determine the bandgap of the sample. This is where Taucs relation comes in. Taucs
relation is given by:!

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Where A denotes the absorbance, h the planks constant, v the frequency and Eg the

bandgap. And since we are able to obtain raw values for A, and because the frequency can be
directly obtained from the wavelength, then we can determine the bandgap of the sample. More
specifically, plotting the important values we obtain the Tauc plot. The Tauc plot makes use of the
wavelength and absorption values obtained from the machine. And by extrapolating the linear part
of the plot, we may obtain the band gap of the MEH-PPV film. !

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Results: !

Glass film without coating: !

Wavelength (nm) vs. Absorbance, Glass

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Absorbance

200

400

600

800

Wavelength (nm)
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Figure 1. Wavelength vs. Abosorbance !

h vs. (Ah)^2, Glass

0

(Ah)^2 (J^2)

h (J)
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Figure 2. hv vs. (Ahv)^2!

Lets first take a look at figure 2. We can observe that for some time, the graph remains

linear. And then after a while, it experiences turbulence in value. The linear part is the part to be
extrapolated. By extrapolating the linear part we can obtain the value for the band gap. Below is
the figure of the extrapolated part. !

Figure 3. Extrapolated!

The x-intercept, which represents the energy band gap, is found to be 6.50835x10^-19 joules. !

Glass coated with MEH-PPV: !

Wavelength (nm) vs. Absorbance, Glass with MEH-PPV Film

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Absorbance

200

400

600

Wavelength (nm)
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Figure 4. Wavelength vs Absorbance MEH-PPV!

800

h vs. (Ah)^2, Glass with MEH-PPV Film

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(Ah)^2 (J^2)

h (J)
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We observed that Figure 4 is very much similar to Figure 1. Almost identical actually.

Figure 5. hv vs. (Ahv)^2 MEH-PPV Film!

However we observe that there is an additional hump to the graph of the wavelength vs.
Absorbance of the glass coated with MEH-PPV. Figure 5 follows the same trend as Figure 2 in
which a linear portion is observed before the graph experiences turbulence in value. Again we are
only interested in the linear portion of the graph above. !

h"vs."(Ah)^2,"Glass"with"MEH+PPV"Film"
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(Ah)^2"(J^2)"

y"="1.10269E+16x"+"7.17675E+35"
R"="9.16070E+01"

6.3E+19"
+2E+36"

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h"(J)"
"

Figure 6. Extrapolated graph of spin coated sample!

Above shows the linear part of figure 5, extrapolated. Its x-intercept is found to be 6.50840x10^-19
Joules. Converting into electron volts, the band gap of MEH-PPV coated sample is 4.062ev. !

We have successfully measured the band gap optically. This means that by way of exciting the
system with photons to obtain a measure of optical absorption as a function of wavelength. This is
the way to measure optical band gap. Electronic band gap however is a whole different story when
it comes to measuring this quantity. An extra electron is injected into the system as part of the
process of measuring the electronic band gap. A big difference between the two is that the amount
of electrons in the system remains the same before and after the measurement of optical band
gap.!

Conclusion: !

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To conclude, the optical band gap of MEH-PPV coated glass was successfully measured.

By using the given data of wavelength and absorption, we were able to obtain the desired result.
By extrapolating the linear part of figure 5, we are able to find the optical band gap of the material.
This optical band gap came out to be 4.062ev. While looking for literature value for the optical band
gap of MEH-PPV, it was found that there were many results. And the cause for many different
values is how thick the coating is. The values ranged from 2.2ev to 4.8ev. The data obtained from
this experiment is well within the given range of values. However, taking note that its a polymer
sample that is conducting, we can say that relatively MEH-PPV must have lower band gaps than
other materials.