Fabrication, surface characterization and electrical properties of hydrogen-irradiated nanocomposite materials

Flexible poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/polyaniline (PANI)/silver (Ag) nanocomposites consisting of PANI and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) with PVA were successfully fabricated using the casting method for application in energy-storage devices. The surface characteristics of the composite films were analyzed using X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy techniques. The estimated crystallite size of AgNPs was 11.7 nm, which increased to 15.3 nm by increasing silver from 2 to 4%. In addition, the morphology of the films was investigated utilizing scanning electron microscopy. The conductivity σ _DC improved from 4.8 × 10⁻¹¹ S/cm for PVA to 1.3 × 10⁻¹⁰ S/cm for PVA/PANI and to 1.2 × 10⁻⁹ S/cm for PVA/PANI/silver. Furthermore, with an increasing temperature value, the electrical resistance was reduced. Moreover, the activation energy was modified with the addition of PANI and silver into the PVA matrix. PVA/PANI/silver was irradiated with hydrogen fluences of 0.4 × 10¹⁸, 0.8 × 10¹⁸ and 1.2 × 10¹⁸ ions/cm². σ _AC was enhanced from 2.67 × 10⁻⁹ S/cm for PVA/PANI/silver to 2.02 × 10⁻⁸ S/cm for 0.4 × 10¹⁸ ions/cm² and to 3.95 × 10⁻⁶ S/cm for 1.2 × 10¹⁸ ions/cm². Moreover, the dielectric constant increased from 0.43 for PVA/PANI/silver to 0.56, 1.23 and 4.18 with exposure to 0.4 × 10¹⁸, 0.8 × 10¹⁸ and 1.2 × 10¹⁸ ions/cm², respectively. The results showed modifications in the electrical characteristics of the irradiated composites, which opened the way for applying these samples in a wide range of dielectric applications.