Tailoring the structural and optical properties of Makrofol/CdS nanocomposite by gamma radiation

Abstract

We synthesized nanocomposite (NCP) from Makrofol polycarbonate (PC) and Cadmium Sulfide (CdS) nanoparticles (NPs) by means of ex-situ casting procedure. We used thermalizes procedure to prepare the NPs in the presence of nitrogen gas stream. Rietveld refinement of x-rays records illustrated that the CdS has cubic and hexagonal constitutions. Samples from the PC-CdS NCP were exposed to γ dosages ranging from 20 to 250 kGy. The changes in structure and optical properties of the NCP films were investigated based on the γ dosage. The optical bandgap, refractive index, Urbach energy, optical dielectric parameters, chromaticity coordinates, tristimulus values, color intensity and color intercepts have been calculated and interpreted based on γ dosages. The bandgap decreased from 4.20 to 4.11 eV with increasing the γ dosage due to the domination of crosslinking, which damage the crystalline phase as indicated from X-ray diffraction (XRD). Further, the non irradiated PC-CdS NCP film displayed significant color difference by γ irradiation.

Keywords

• Gamma radiation
• Polymer nanocomposite
• XRD
• Optical properties
• Color changes