| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1683275 | Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms | 2014 | 7 Pages |
•Two steps electrochemical synthesis for the fabrication of Ag-polypyrrole composite films.•Surface modifications by swift heavy ion beam.•SEM image shows the formation of craters and humps after irradiation.•Detailed structural analysis by Raman spectroscopy.
The general aim of this work was to study the effects of swift heavy ions on the properties of electrochemically synthesized Ag-polypyrrole composite thin films. Initially, polypyrrole (PPy) films were electrochemically synthesized on indium tin oxide coated glass surfaces using a chronopotentiometery technique, at optimized process conditions. The prepared PPy films have functioned as working electrodes for the decoration of submicron Ag particles on the surface of the PPy films through a cyclicvoltammetry technique. Towards probing the effect of swift heavy ion irradiation on the structural and morphological properties, the composite films were subjected to a 40 MeV Li3+ ion beam irradiation for various fluences (1 × 1011, 1 × 1012 and 1 × 1013 ions/cm2). Comparative microstructural investigations were carried out after the different ion fluences using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and micro-Raman spectroscopy techniques. Raman and SEM studies revealed that the structure of the films became disordered after irradiation. The SEM studies of irradiated composite films show significant changes in their surface morphologies. The surface was smoother at lower fluence but craters were observed at higher fluence.
