Ion beam modification of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) polymer matrix filled with organometallic complex

A Nickel Dimethylglyoxime (Ni-DMG) compound was dispersed in polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) films at different concentrations. PMMA was synthesized by a solution polymerization technique. These films were irradiated with 120 MeV Ni10+ ions at the fluences of 1 x 10(11) and 1 x 10(12) ions/cm(2). The radiation induced changes in dielectric properties and average surface roughness were investigated by using an LCR meter in the frequency range 50Hz to 10MHz and atomic force microscopy (AFM), respectively. The electrical properties of irradiated films are found to increase with the fluence and also with the concentration of Ni-DMG. From the analysis of frequency, f, dependence of dielectric constant, epsilon, it has been found that the dielectric response in both pristine and irradiated samples obey the Universal law given by epsilon alpha f (n-1). The dielectric constant/loss is observed to change significantly due to the irradiation. 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. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) shows that the average surface roughness and surface morphology of irradiated films are observed to change.