SHI irradiation effects on electrical and optical properties of PPy–SnO2 nanocomposite

Abstract

AbstractThe films of polypyrrole–tin oxide (PPy–SnO2) nanocomposites were synthesized by chemical oxidative polymerization technique. These films were irradiated with 90‐MeV O7+ ions at the fluences of 5 × 1010, 1 × 1011, 5 × 1011, and 1 × 1012 ions/cm2. X‐ray diffraction studies show that microstrain and domain crystallite size of SnO2 nanoparticles in PPy matrix increase with the increase of ion fluence, resulting in highly ordered PPy–SnO2 nanocomposites. TGA analysis shows that the SnO2 nanoparticles inhibit the degradation of PPy, thereby enhancing the thermal stability of the PPy–SnO2 nanocomposites. DC electrical conductivity is found to increase with the increase of fluence and conduction mechanism follows a one‐dimensional variable‐range hopping model. AC electrical conductivity also increases with the increase of ion fluence and obeys correlated barrier‐hopping model. I–V characteristics of the PPy–SnO2 nanocomposites exhibit Schottky barrier formation at the PPy/SnO2 interface. The photoluminescence intensity of the PPy–SnO2 nanocomposite increases with the increase of ion fluence, which can be attributed to the thermal detrapping of charge carriers owing to the enormous energy transfer during swift, heavy‐ion irradiation.