Optical and Electrical Characteristics of Polymer Films Modified with Nanostructured Silver Aggregates

To study the formation of a new dispersed phase in polymer layers, the absorption of radiation-generated silver aggregates in cellophane films was examined. Stable silver nanoparticles were prepared by the radiation-chemical reduction of silver ions in a solution of inverted micelles of the composition AgNO₃(AgClO₄)/H₂O/AOT/octane. On irradiation of cellophane films immersed in a micellar solution, the formed silver aggregates Ag^m+_nbecame incorporated into the films. The modified films exhibited a stable yellow color. The intensity of an optical absorption band of the films with _max 420–440 nm increased proportionally to the radiation dose absorbed by an aqueous micellar solution. The light sensitivity of these films was examined. A 35-min exposure of the films at = 365 nm resulted in an increase in the intensity of the main absorption band by 17% and in a bathochromic shift of the maximum. The electrical characteristics of modified films were determined depending on the radiation dose. It was found that the incorporation of nanostructured silver clusters exhibiting the characteristic optical absorption band with _max 420–440 nm increased the conductivity of cellophane films by two to three orders of magnitude.