Impact of gamma irradiation on some physical properties of PVA – Metal oxide nano composite films for optoelectronic devices

Abstract The dip casting method was used to prepare PVA/TiO 2 , PVA/ZrO 2 and PVA/ Ti 50 -Zr 50 thin films with different concentrations of both TiO 2 and ZrO 2 (0.02, 0.04, 0.06, 0.08, 0.1g). X-Ray diffractometer (XRD) was used to confirm the amorphous nature of PVA/Ti 50 -Zr 50 and pure PVA thin films and a crystalline nature of PVA/TiO 2 and PVA/ZrO 2 thin films with different metal oxide content. Fourier transformation infrared spectrophotometer (FTIR) technique was used to study the molecular structure of all thin films in the ranges (500-4000cm − 1 ). The optical parameters such as absorption coefficient (α), extinction coefficient (K), optical conductivity (σ opt ), refractive index (n) and optical energy gap (E g ) were measured by ultraviolet-visible spectrometer (UV) for all thin films. From the optical parameters the doping of TiO 2 , ZrO 2 and Ti 50− Zr 50 on PVA matrix make the thin films viable option for use in photocatalysts, optoelectronics, and UV- blocking materials. The lowest band gap is 2.62ev for PVA/Ti 50− Zr 50 demonstrates that increases optical transitions and defect states. The band gap for PVA/ Ti 50 -Zr 50 film is the lowest, indicating that it can be candidate for solar cell application. The PVA/Ti 50 -Zr 50 thin film irradiated by gamma irradiation at different doses: D 1  = 10kGy, D 2  = 20kGy and D 3  = 30kGy show decrease in absorbance due to the increase of amorphous nature by irradiation.