T. P. Sharma

Structural, optical and electrical properties of CdZnS thin films

The thin films of Cd1-x Zn x S (x = 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 and 1) have been prepared by the vacuum evaporation method using a mechanically alloyed mixture of CdS and ZnS. The structural, optical and electrical properties have been investigated through the X-ray diffractometer, spectrophotometer and Keithley electrometer. The X-ray diffraction patterns of these films show that films are polycrystalline in nature having preferential orientation along the (002) plane. In the absorption spectra of these films, absorption edge shifts towards lower wavelength with the increase of Zn concentration. The energy band gap has been determined using these spectra. It is found that the energy band gap increases with increasing Zn concentration. The electrical conductivity of so prepared thin films has been determined using a I–V characteristic curve for these films. The result indicates that the electrical conductivity decreases with increasing Zn content and increases with temperature. An effort has also been made to obtain activation energy of these films which increases with increasing Zn concentration in CdS.

Optical properties of CdS sintered film

Chemical method has been used to prepare cadmium sulphide by using cadmium, hydrochloric acid and H2S. The reflection spectra of covered and uncovered sintered films of CdS have been recorded by ‘Hitachi spectrophotometer’ over the wavelength range 300–700 nm. The energy band gaps of these films have been calculated from reflection spectra. It is found that the energy band gap of both films is same as 2.41 eV. It is indicated that energy band gap of these films does not change. This value of band gap is in good agreement with the value reported by other workers. The measurement of photocurrent has also been carried out using Keithley High Resistance meter/ Electrometer. This film shows the high photosensitivity and high photocurrent decay. Thus so obtained films are suitable for fabrication of photo detectors and solar cells.

Electrical Properties of CdS/Polyaniline Heterojunction

Conducting polyaniline (PANI) has been synthesized using Sol-gel technique with chemical oxidation process. Chemically prepared cadmium sulphide has been printed on pellet of conducting polyaniline using screen-printing technique. I-V characteristics of conducting polyaniline and CdS printed conducting polyaniline have been recorded at room temperature using Keithley Electrometer. The results indicated that I-V of conducting polyaniline shows non-ohmic behaviour and I-V characteristic of CdS printed PANI, a CdS/ PANI heterojunction, shows the rectification effect and confirms that a diode can be fabricated by using simple technique.

Thermomechanical investigation of a thick film of aniline-formaldehyde copolymer and poly(methyl methacrylate)

A thick film of aniline-formaldehyde copolymer and PMMA is synthesized via dispersion of aniline-formaldehyde copolymer powder as filler particles in PMMA with two different concentrations. Variation of the complex elastic modulus and mechanical loss factor (tanδ) with temperature is studied. It is observed that the complex elastic modulus decreases with temperature owing to thermal expansion of films. On the other hand, tanδ increases up to a characteristic temperature beyond which it shows a decreasing trend toward melting. Transition temperature T g of sample S1 (pure PMMA) is found to be 80°C. In sample S2 (1 wt % aniline formaldehyde copolymer), the peak of tanδ at a lower temperature (66°C) corresponds to glass transition temperature T g of the PMMA matrix, while the peak of tanδ at a higher temperature (107.8°C) corresponds to T g of a polymer chain restricted by filler particles of aniline-formaldehyde copolymer. A further increase (10 wt % aniline-formaldehyde copolymer) in the concentration of filler particles of aniline-formaldehyde copolymer results in a more compact structure and a shift of T g to a higher temperature, 122.2°C. This shift in the glass transition temperature of thick films of aniline-formaldehyde copolymer and PMMA is dependent upon the concentration of filler particles in the sample.

Energy Band Gap Studies of CdS Nanomaterials

The CdS nanoparticles of different sizes are synthesized by a simple chemical method. Here, CdS nanoparticles are grown through the reaction of solution of different concentration of CdCl2 with H2S. X-ray diffraction pattern confirms nano nature of CdS and has been used to determine the size of particle. Optical absorption spectroscopy is used to measure the energy band gap of these nanomaterials by using Tauc relation. Energy band gap ranging between 3.12 eV to 2.47 eV have been obtained for the samples containing the nanoparticles in the range of 2.3 to 6.0 nm size. A correlation between the band gap and size of the nanoparticles is also established.

Temperature Dependence of Thermo-Mechanical Properties of Banana Fiber-Reinforced Polyester Composites

Using a Dynamic Mechanical Analyzer (DMA), mechanical properties like modulus and phase transition temperature of polyester composites of banana fibers (treated and untreated) are measured simultaneously. The shifting of phase transition temperature is observed in some treatments. The performance of the composite depends to a large extent on the adhesion between polymer matrix and the reinforcement. This is often achieved by surface modification of the matrix or the filler. Banana fiber was modified chemically to achieve improved interfacial interaction between the fiber and the polyester matrix. Various silanes and alkalies were used to modify the fiber surface. Chemical modification was found to have a profound effect on the fiber/matrix interaction, which is evident from the values of phase transition temperatures. Of the various chemical treatments, simple alkali treatment with 1% NaOH was found to be the most effective.

Determination of optical and electrical properties of ZnSe thin films

A thin film of zinc selenide (ZnSe) was deposited onto a clean glass substrate using a vacuum evaporation technique. This thin film was characterized through X-ray diffraction, which indicated that the film was polycrystalline in nature. Absorption and transmission spectra of this thin film were recorded using a spectrophotometer. The energy band gap, refractive index and extinction coefficient were determined using these spectra. It was found that the energy band gap of ZnSe film was 2.55 eV. It was also observed that the refractive index and extinction coefficient of the film decreased with the increase of wavelength. The conductivity of this thin film was determined by current–voltage measurement using an electrometer over the temperature range from room temperature to 413 K. It was observed that conductivity increased with increase in temperature. This is explained on the basis of structural changes occurring due to the change in grain size and the increase in carrier density.

Temperature dependence of effective thermal conductivity and effective thermal diffusivity of CdZnSe composite

Samples of selenium rich Se85Cd15−xZnx (x = 0, 3, 7, 11 and 15) system in bulk form have been prepared using a technique of slow cooling of the melt. Measurements of effective thermal conductivity (λe) and effective thermal diffusivity (χe) of Se85Cd15−xZnx pellets, prepared at constant load of 10 tons, have been carried out from room temperature to 200 °C using the transient plane source technique. The variation in λe and χe of Se85Cd15−xZnx with the concentration of zinc and temperature is explained on the basis of structure modifications of the samples and the mean free path of the phonons due to scattering from defects and voids.

Investigation of electrical properties of PANI/chalcogenide junctions

Pure Polyaniline (EB) and Polyaniline doped with different protonic acids (ESs) were chemically synthesized using ammonium peroxydisulphate (APS) as an oxidant. Junctions have been prepared by evaporating chalcogenide materials (ZnSe, CdSe) on conducting polyaniline (EB & ESs) pellets using a vacuum evaporation technique. I–V characteristics of junctions have been studied at room temperature using the Keithley electrometer 6517A. I–V measurements show the rectification effect. A junction of ES[PO43−] may be preferred over the other junctions due to its low ideality factor and maximum rectification ratio.