Investigation of impact of Al2O3 nanoparticles on optical, electrical and structural properties of PFO/PMMA films for optoelectronic applications

The present study reports the route for the synthesis of nanocomposite films using the solution cast method consisting of PMMA(Poly methyl methacrylate), 1% PFO (Poly (9, 9ʹ-di-n-octylfluorenyl-2, 7-diyl) and Al2O3 nanofiller. The optical absorption and fluorescence were increased with nanofiller concentration. The optical parameters like absorption coefficient, extinction coefficient, optical band gap, Urbach energy, optical conductivity, refractive index and optical dielectric constants were studied using UV Visible spectroscopy. The highly correlating XRD, SEM and FTIR data reveal the homogeneous dispersion of the nanofiller in the polymer matrix. The AC conductivity and dielectric properties of these films are also investigated and reported.The dielectric studies shows a significant increase in dielectric constant in audio frequency range due to interfacial polarisation (IP) phenomenon in PNC materials. Composites show enhanced rotational dynamics due to nanofiller particles consistent with other PNC materials. The innovation resides in the strongly associated photophysical parameters and the straightforward, cost-effective procedure applicable under standard laboratory conditions in contrast to the solvent vapour annealing (SVA) or thermally induced annealing (TIA) methods available in the literature. This combination can have a potential applications in UV–Visible absorption, band gap modulation and LED applications.