Thickness dependent optical properties of PEMA and (PEMA)0.85/(ZnO)0.15 nanocomposite films deposited by spray pyrolysis technique on ITO substrate

Abstract

In this paper, poly (ethyl methacrylate) (PEMA) and (PEMA)0.85/(ZnO)0.15 nanocomposite films for 2, 3, 4 and 5 minutes have been deposited by spray pyrolysis technique on indium tin oxide (ITO) coated substrate. The effect of thickness of the film on the morphological and optical properties of PEMA and (PEMA)0.85/(ZnO)0.15 nanocomposite films are studied. The morphological and optical properties of pure PEMA and (PEMA)0.85/(ZnO)0.15 nanocomposite films are compared. The field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) shows that as the thickness of film increases, uniformity of films increases. It is found from UV-Visible spectra that the energy band gap decreases with increasing the deposition time and refractive index increases with increasing the thickness of the film. The band gap of the nanocomposites is found less than the pure polymer film and opposite trend is observed for refractive index. The optical absorption of PEMA/ZnO nanocomposite films is higher than pure PEMA film. The thickness of the nanocomposite film plays a significant role in the tunability of the optical properties.