Optical and Color Modification in Polycarbonate/ZnS-NiO Nanocomposite Films Due to Laser Exposure

Abstract

We fabricate a nanocomposite (NC) of polycarbonate (PC), Zinc sulfide (ZnS) and Nickel oxide (NiO) nanoparticle by the sol-gel and ex-situ casting processes. We trust that this study is novel in the area of the impact of laser on such NC. The Rietveld alteration of XRD records indicates that both the prepared ZnS and NiO have a nano-nature of an average particle size of 4 and 18 nm. Samples of the PC/ZnS-NiO NC films are exposed to numerous laser fluences (4 – 30 J/cm²). We investigate the resulting outcome of the laser exposure on the optical behavior of the NC films, using ultraviolet spectroscopy (UVs). Upon raising the fluence up to 30 J/cm², both the indirect and direct band gaps reduce. The Urbach energy exhibits a reverse trend. This can be attributable to the domination of chain crosslinks. Also, we detect the nature of microelectronic transitions, using the optical dielectric loss εʺ and find that the PC/ZnS-NiO NC films possess direct allowed transitions. Also, we study the laser induced modifications in the optical conductivity and dielectric parameters. Moreover, the optical coloration changes between the exposed samples and pristine are estimated. The pristine NC sample is uncolored. It shows significant color alterations upon the laser exposure. The induced improvements in the optical characters suggest that the laser is a convenient mean that permits the use of PC/ZnS-NiO NC in the optoelectronic devices.