Chemical and structural changes in polyamide based organic-inorganic hybrid materials upon incorporation of SeS2O62− precursor

Composite organic-inorganic functional materials are of significant importance in various applications of science and technology. In this work, physicochemical characterization of such composite materials obtained after the exposure of polyamide PA 6 to K2SeS2O6 precursor solution was performed. Chalcogenized polymer surface was characterized using X-ray diffraction, infrared, and UV-vis spectroscopies while their bulk chemical analysis was performed using atomic absorption spectroscopy. Crystallite size was not found to change with the exposure to K2SeS2O6 precursor but PA 6 chain-chain separation decreased. Importantly, infrared and X-ray analyses showed chemical bonding taking place between the PA 6 and SeS2O62− ions via −NH− functional group. A distinct change in bandgap, Eg, value was observed in UV-vis spectra due to the presence of SeS2O62−, SeSO32− and Se2S2O62− ions formed via decomposition of the precursor material in acidic medium. After extended 4 h chalcogenation a distinct absorption due to the elemental selenium was also observed as obtained from Tauc plots.