Enhanced Electrical Conductivity and Dielectric Performance of Ternary Nanocomposite Film of PEMA/PS/Silver NPs Synthesized by Laser Ablation

The synthesis of ternary nanocomposites with tailored properties based on polymer blends is gaining popularity all over the world. Our work introduces a novel ternary nanocomposite of poly (ethylmethacrylate)/polystyrene/silver nanoparticles (PEMA/PS/Ag NPs). Silver nanoparticles were synthesized via laser ablation route at different laser times (5, 10, 15, 20, and 30 min) and scattered in PEMA/PS blend in one step. The prepared Ag NPs@PEMA/PS films were investigated via FT-IR, XRD, SEM, and UV-Vis. techniques. The dielectric characterization and electrical conductivity of the prepared have been performed. FT-IR results approve the particular interaction in NPs@PEMA/PS at various laser ablation times. XRD results showed an increase in amorphousity, which encouraged the interaction between Ag NPs and the PEMA/PS blend. SEM photo reveals that the scattering of Ag NPs has been raised on the surfaces of the samples as the concentration of Ag NPs increased in the PEMA/PS matrix. The optical properties of the synthesized samples obtain a distinct absorption peak at 432 nm that has been attributed to Ag NPs surface plasmon resonance (SPR). The energy gap of prepared samples decreased as the concentration of Ag NPs in PEMA/PS increased, decreasing from 3.64 to 2.71 eV for the direct transition and from 1.68 to 0.42 eV for the indirect transition. The dielectric constant, dielectric loss, and A.C electrical conductivity of Ag NPs@PEMA/PS films increased with increasing in Ag NPs content. The PEMA/PS/Ag NPs at laser ablation time 30 min achieves a maximum ionic conductivity of ~ 7.86 × 10^–5 S/cm. The results confirm that NPs@PEMA/PS films nanocomposites have excellent optical and electronic properties, which may encourage the application of these composites in different electric and optoelectric utilization.