Modification of polymer composite films using 120 MeV Ni10+ ions

The films of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) were synthesized by solution polymerization technique. Nickel dimethylglyoxime (Ni-DMG) compound was dispersed in polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) films at different concentrations. These films were irradiated with 120 MeV Ni10+ ions at the fluences of 1 x 1011 and 1 x 1012 ions/cm2. These irradiated films were characterized by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), Vickers' microhardness tester, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). X-ray diffraction patterns revealed that the particle size of Ni-DMG nanoparticles is reduced upon irradiation. It indicates that there is a significant interaction of ion beam with Ni-DMG particles in polymer matrix which leads to deposition of large amount of energy and resulted in splitting/melting of nanometric grains. It also revealed that semi crystalline phase of pristine films has been changed with respect to concentration and with the fluence. It is observed that the hardness of the film increases as fluence increases. This suggests that ion beam irradiation promotes (i) the metal to polymer bonding (ii) convert the polymeric structure in to hydrogen depleted carbon network due to the emission of hydrogen gas and/or other volatile gases. The surface average roughness increases as concentration of filler increases and decreases due to ion beam irradiation as revealed from AFM studies. SEM micrographs show partial agglomeration of filler and flake-like structure upon irradiation