Effect of Gamma Irradiation on the Optical and Electrical Properties of PVA/CdS Nanocomposites

PVA/CdS nanocomposites were obtained by forming cadmium sulfide (CdS) nanoparticles by the layered chemisorption method of anions and cations from a solution of appropriate salts in the pores of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). A comparative analysis of optical and electrical properties of pristine and gamma-irradiated PVA/CdS nanocomposites was performed. It has been shown that the observed changes in the optical and electrical properties of gamma-irradiated PVA/CdS nanocomposites are the result of a change in the ratio between the construction and destruction processes occurring in the matrix and at the polymer-filler interphase boundary. We believe that the reason why the value of the forbidden zone determined from the optical properties of the original and irradiated PVA/CdS nanocomposites shifts from 6eV for PVA to 2.6eV with the increase in the number of formation cycles in nanocomposites is the change in the size of CdS nanoparticles. The reason for the changes in the value of the E-g parameter of nanocomposites with the increase of the dose of gamma radiation is the change in the relationship between the interaction between components and the construction-destruction processes at the polymer-filler interphase boundary, as can be seen from the dependences of E-g = f(D). The reason for the changes in the electrical properties of PVA/CdS nanocomposites is the change in the mobility of the macromolecular chains of the matrix due to the changes that occur at the interphase boundary after gamma irradiation. The results of the study show that the optical and electrical properties of nanocomposites can be controlled by choosing the number of forming cycles and the value of the gamma radiation dose.