Ion beam modification and analysis of organometallics dispersed polymer films

Thin films of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) were synthesized. Ferric oxalate was dispersed in PMMA films at various concentrations. These films were irradiated with 80 MeV O6+ ions at a fluence of 1 × 1011 ions/cm2. The radiation induced changes in electrical conductivity, microhardness, surface roughness are investigated in the paper. It is observed that hardness and electrical conductivity of the film increases with the concentration of dispersed ferric oxalate and also with the fluence. It indicates that ion beam irradiation promotes (i) the metal to polymer bonding (ii) convert the polymeric structure in to hydrogen depleted carbon network. Thus irradiation makes the polymer more hard and more conductive. Atomic force microscopy shows that average roughness (Ra) of the irradiated film is lower than the unirradiated one.