Enhancement of the conductivity and dielectric properties of PVA/Ag nanocomposite films using γ irradiation.

Polymer based composites with tunable dielectric properties have many applications in organic electronics. This manuscript reports the influence of gamma irradiation on the electrical and dielectric properties of silver/polymer composite (Ag/PVA) films with thickness 0.18 mm. The films were prepared by the in-situ chemical reduction and later irradiated with gamma (γ) radiation doses (25, 50, 75, 100, 125 KGy). The content of Ag (0.4 wt %) in the PVA films were determined by the atomic absorption spectroscopy (AA). The films were characterized by the dielectric spectroscopy and Current-Voltage (I V) measurements. The dielectric constant ( ε ′ ) value decreased with the increasing gamma irradiation doses. The conductivity films and dielectric loss increased with the increasing gamma irradiation doses. The optimum conductivity: σ = 4.9 × 10 −8 S m −1 was found at gamma radiation dose of 125 KGy. The Poole-Frenkel emission is the prevailing transport mechanism for all the samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]