Effect of Cu Ions Implantation on Structural, Electronic, Optical and Dielectric Properties of Polymethyl Methacrylate (PMMA).

Athar N Akhtar,G Murtaza,M Ahsan Shafique,Ahmed S Haidyrah

doi:10.3390/polym13060973

Abstract

In this work, the effect of ion bombardment on the optical properties of Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) was studied. Polymer samples were implanted with 500 keV Cu+ ions with a fluence ranging from 1 × 1012 to 1 × 1014 ions/cm2. X-ray Diffractometer (XRD) study indicated a relatively lower variation with a higher dose of ions. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectra exhibited that with the implantation of Cu ions the intensity of existing bands decreases, while the result confirms the existence of a C=C group. The pristine and ion-implanted samples were also investigated using photoluminescence (PL) and Ultra Violet-Visible (UV-VIS) spectra. The optical band gap (Eg) was observed up to 3.05 eV for the implanted samples, while the pristine sample exhibited a wide energy-gap up to ~3.9 eV. The change in the optical gap indicated the presence of a gradual phase transition for the polymer blends. The dielectric measurements of the pristine and Cu-implanted PMMA were investigated in the 10 Hz to 2 GHz frequency range. It was found that the implanted samples showed a significant decrease in the value of the dielectric constant. The value of the dielectric constant and dielectric loss of the PMMA and Cu-implanted samples at a 1-kHz frequency were found to be ~300 and 29, respectively. The modification of the PMMA energy bandgap in the current research suggested the potential use of Cu implanted PMMA in the field of optical communications and flexible electronic devices.

Highlights

Polymers with large molecular weights are promising candidates due to their versatile properties, forms and compositions
Three PMMA targets of 2 × 2 cm2 were mounted on the sample holder and exposed to an ion beam with a fluence ranging from 1 × 1012 to 1 × 1014 ions cm−2 and the fourth sample, which was not implanted, was referred to as a pristine sample
The study showed that heavy-ion stopping global accuracy of Stopping and Range of Ions in Matter (SRIM)-2013 simulations was about 6.0 % [33]

Summary

Introduction

Polymers with large molecular weights are promising candidates due to their versatile properties, forms and compositions. Modification techniques that can be helpful in order to enhance the various properties of polymers are gamma rays, ultraviolet, neutron, electron and ion implantation Different polymers, such as Polyethene oxide (PEO), low-density polyethene (LDPE), Poly vinyl Alcohol (PVA), Polytetraflouro ethylene (PTFE), Poly vinyl chloride (PVC), Polyethene glycol (PEG), Polycarbonate (PC), Polypropylene (PP), Polyallyldiglycol carbonate (PADC) and Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) exhibit a remarkable chemical and physical properties after surface modification [7]. An important and widely used techniques is the modification of surface properties of polymers using electrons, neutrons, ion beams and gamma rays for versatile applications of polymers in background radiation devices, such as ballistic capsule, nuclear reactor, sterilization irradiators and high energy particle accelerators [9,10] This technique causes a transformation in the chemical composition and structure with a well-controlled method [11]. The ratio (Sn/Se) in the total energy loss gives the probability of structural modification of polymers induced by ion implantation [29,30,31]

Methods

Results

Conclusion