ELECTRICAL AND OPTICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF PMMA DOPED WITH Y0.0025Si0.025Ba0.9725 (Ti(0.9)Sn0.1)O3 CERAMIC

Poly(methylmetacrylate) (PMMA)/Y0.0025Si0.025Ba0.9725(Ti(0.9)Sn0.1)O-3 (YBTS) composites were prepared at different weight ratios of YBTS (0 wt%, 5 wt%, 10 wt% and 20 wt% YBTS) in order to investigate effect of YBTS additions on the electrical and optical properties of PMMA host. The electrical properties ( impedance, dielectric constant dielectric loss and AC conductivity) were studied in the frequency range 10 kHz-1 MHz and in temperature range 20-90 degrees C. Upon increasing the contents of YBTS ceramic, we observed a reduction in the impedance and an increase in the dielectric constant, dielectric loss and AC conductivity of PMMA host. We also found that the relaxation process at high YBTS contents was due to relaxation in the ionic conductivity. The absorption coefficient (alpha) has been determined in the wavelength range 230-800 nm at room temperature for all YBTS-PMMA composites. Moreover, the addition of YBTS ceramic highly enhances the UV absorption of PMMA host especially below 300 nm. Addition of 20 wt% YBTS ceramic to PMMA host decreases the optical energy gap from 5 eV to 3.41 eV. Correlations between electrical, optical and SEM results are reported.