Preparation, structural investigation and optical properties determination of composite films based on PAZO polymer doped with GeTe4-Cu chalcogenide particles

Abstract

The work presents preparation, structural investigation and optical properties determination of composite films based on the azopolymer (poly[1-[4-(3-carboxy-4-hydroxyphenylazo)benzenesulfonamido]-1,2-ethanediyl, sodium salt]), shortly PAZO, doped with 1 wt.% particles of the previously synthesized by us new tellurium containing chalcogenide system (GeTe4)100-xCux, where x = 5, 10, 15 and 20 mol.%. X-Ray diffraction (XRD) was applied to analyze the structure of the chalcogenide bulk material. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) has been used to study the particles and the composite films morphology. The transmittance coefficient (T), the reflectance coefficient (R), the refractive index (n), the extinction coefficient (k), the optical absorption coefficient (α) and the optical band gap (Egopt) of the composite films were determined. Birefringence was induced by a He-Cd laser with a wavelength 442 nm and measured with probe Diode Pumped Solid State (DPSS) laser at 635 nm. The influence of the dopants concentration on the optical performance of the composite films has been discussed.