Structural and dielectric properties of ion beam irradiated polymer/silver composite films

In this work, flexible nanocomposite films that are composed of silver (Ag) nanoparticles, polyaniline (PANI) and methylcellulose (MC) were manufactured using the casting solution fabrication technique. The manufactured films were characterized using X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, which confirming the preparation of the composite samples. The MC/PANI/silver films were then irradiated with oxygen (O)-ion beams at a range of fluences (8 × 10¹⁷, 16 × 10¹⁷ and 24 × 10¹⁷ ions/cm²). The electrical conductivity, complex impedance behavior, electric modulus and energy density of pure and irradiated films were determined throughout the frequency range 100 Hz–5 MHz. The oxygen-beam irradiation of MC/PANI/silver films caused a significant modification in dielectric parameters. Also, the dielectric constant ϵ′ improved from 0.68 to 3.17, and the conductivity was modified from 1.47 × 10⁻⁶ to 25.9 × 10⁻⁶ S/cm. The findings of the present study will pave the way for the use of irradiated MC/PANI/silver nanocomposite films in a variety of applications, including microelectronic devices, batteries and supercapacitors.