Photoluminescent and thermal behavior of 120 MeV silicon and 84 MeV oxygen ion irradiated PVDC

Photoluminescent, structural and thermal changes induced in polyvinylidenechloride (PVDC) films by irradiation with energetic silicon and oxygen ions have been determined using different techniques viz PL, FTIR, UV–vis, XRD, TGA and AFM. Noticeable photoluminescence was observed in PVDC after irradiation with 84 MeV oxygen ions at fluence 3.2×1011 ions cm−2, which is attributed to the small carbon cluster formed in the polymer due to irradiation. Quenching and shifting in the position of the PL band towards the longer wavelength side of the spectrum was observed with the increase in ion fluence. UV–vis and FTIR analysis have strongly corroborated the results of PL spectroscopy. X-ray diffractograms and TGA curves show decrease in crystallinity and weight loss, respectively, of PVDC films after irradiation. The strong correlation between the behaviors of different properties were analyzed and discussed in the present paper.