Structural, Optical and Electrical Studies on Poly(methyl methacrylate) Polymer Loaded with CuCo₂O₄/CuS Mixtures

Abstract

Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA)/(1-x)CuCo₂O₄/xCuS (x = 0, 0.1, 0.25, 0.5) nanocomposites polymers were formed using hydrothermal, solid state and solvent casting procedures. The structure of the filler and polymer nano-composite samples were examined using an X-ray diffraction technique. The impacts of the (1-x)CuCo₂O₄/xCuS mixture on the diffuse absorption, transmittance, reflectance, extinction coefficient, refractive index, optical dielectric constant, energy loss functions and optical conductivity were investigated. The absorbance of PMMA/(1-x)CuCo₂O₄/xCuS changed depending on the percentage of CuS in the nanocomposite. The optical band gaps (E_g) for PMMA were 4.52 and 4.46 eV, directly and indirectly, respectively. The sample with x = 0.25 produced the lowest direct/indirect E_g values, 4.34 and 3.79 eV. The fluorescence spectra of the undoped and doped PMMA polymers were explored. Depending on the filler composition in the PMMA/(1-x)CuCo₂O₄/xCuS samples, the emitted colors could be modulated. The effects of the (1-x)CuCo₂O₄/xCuS mixture as a function of the dielectric constant, dielectric loss, ac conductivity and electric modulus of the host polymer were examined.

Keywords:

• CuCo₂O₄/CuS
• electrical
• optical
• poly(methyl methacrylate)
• samples
• structure

Authors’ contribution

All authors have contributed, discussed the results and approved the final manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Research data policy and data availability statements

The authors confirm that the data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Researchers Supporting Project number (RSP2024R72), King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.