Login Register Cart 0
Generic placeholder image

Current Applied Polymer Science

Editor-in-Chief

ISSN (Print): 2452-2716
ISSN (Online): 2452-2724

Back
Journal Home About Journal Editorial Board Journal Insight Current Issue Volumes/Issues
Subscribe
Research Article

Er3+ Incorporated Transparent Ternary Nanocomposite as Active Core Material in Polymer Optical Preform with Improved Photo-emission Performance

Author(s): Ipsita Chinya, Ranjan Sen and Anirban Dhar*

Volume 4, Issue 3, 2021

Published on: 16 December, 2021

Page: [227 - 234] Pages: 8

DOI: 10.2174/2452271604666211130123241

Price: $65

Abstract

Background: A polymer as a host in the optical waveguide has many advantages and, when doped with rare-earth (RE) elements, offers an efficient connection, compared to its glassbased counterparts as an amplifier. However, a polymer matrix causes the concentration quenching effect of REs in the polymer matrix, making the fabrication of RE-doped polymer waveguides more complicated as compared to the fabrication of glass-based complements. Moreover, controlling scattering loss at the particle-polymer interface for maintaining the optical clarity of the composite is also a great challenge.

Objective: The main aim of the present study was to optimize the synthesis of Er2O3 grafted Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA)-Polystyrene (PS) composite based transparent ternary nanocomposite and its characterization to implement them as a potential material for active core in Polymer Optical Preform (POP).

Methods: Nano Erbium Oxide (Er2O3) was successfully synthesized by the wet-chemical method and encapsulated by a polymerizable surfactant, i.e., 3-Methacyloxypropyltrimethoxy silane (MPS). The encapsulated nanoparticles were further subjected to grafting with PMMA using in-situ polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) followed by blending with PS via solvent mixing technique.

Results: The optical transparency of the ternary composite was achieved by fine-tuning the diameter (15-20 nm) of the PMMA coated Er2O3 . The crystallinity present in Er2O3 was significantly reduced after PMMA coating. The comparatively higher refractive index obtained at 589 nm wavelength for the synthesized material indicated its usability as active core material in the presence of a commercial acrylate cladding tube. A photoluminescence (Pl) study indicated that the technique might be used for a higher level of Er3+ doping in polymer matrix without sacrificing its transparency.

Conclusion: The obtained results indicated that the sample synthesized with the adopted technique gives better Pl intensity compared to the other methods of Er3+ incorporation in polymer optical preform (POP).

Keywords: Erbium, transparent polymer nanocomposite, active core material, polymer optical preform, photoluminescencestudy, glass-based complements.

« Previous Next »
Graphical Abstract

[1]
Miniscalco WJ. Erbium-doped glasses for fiber amplifiers at 1500 nm. J Lit Technol 1991; 9(2): 234-50.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/50.65882]
[2]
Ramesh Rao MR, Richards JR, Manohar J, M B A, Sivasubramanian A. Erbium doped fiber amplifiers: State of art. Int J Sci Technol Res 2013; 2(5): 316.
[3]
Borowska L, Fritzsche S, Kik PG, Masunov AE. Near-field enhancement of infrared intensities for f-f transitions in Er3+ ions close to the surface of silicon nanoparticles. J Mol Model 2011; 17(3): 423-8.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00894-010-0708-6] [PMID: 20490882]
[4]
Desurvire E, Simpson JR. Evaluation of 4I15/2 and 4I13/2 Stark-level energies in erbium-doped aluminosilicate glass fibers. Opt Lett 1990; 15(10): 547-9.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1364/OL.15.000547] [PMID: 19768003]
[5]
Kobayashi T, Nakatsuka S, Iwafuji T, et al. Fabrication and superfluorescence of rare-earth chelate-doped graded index polymer optical fibers. Appl Phys Lett 1997; 71(17): 2421.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.120080]
[6]
van Eijkelenborg M, Large M, Argyros A, et al. Microstructured polymer optical fibre. Opt Express 2001; 9(7): 319-27.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1364/OE.9.000319] [PMID: 19421303]
[7]
Koeppen C, Yamada S, Jiang G, Garito AF, Dalton LR. Rare-earth organic complexes for amplification in polymer optical fibers and waveguides. J Opt Soc Am B 1997; 14(1): 155-62.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1364/JOSAB.14.000155]
[8]
Hanemann T, Szabó DV. Polymer-nanoparticle composites: From synthesis to modern applications. Materials (Basel) 2010; 3(6): 3468-517.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ma3063468]
[9]
Slooff LH, Polman A, Klink SI, Grave L, van Veggel FCJM, Hofstraat JW. Concentration effects in the photodegradation of lissamine-functionalized neodymium complexes in polymer waveguides. J Opt Soc Am B 2001; 18(11): 1690-4.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1364/JOSAB.18.001690]
[10]
Ehrmann PR, Carlson K, Campbell JH, Click CA, Brow RK. Neodymium fluorescence quenching by hydroxyl groups in phosphate laser glasses. J Non-Cryst Solids 2004; 349: 105-14.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jnoncrysol.2004.08.216]
[11]
Bruce AJ, Reed WA, Neeves AE, Copeland LR, Grodkiewicz WH, Lidgard A. Concentration and hydroxyl impurity quenching of the 4I13/2–4I15/2 luminescence in Er3+ doped sodium silicate glasses. MRS Proc 1991; 244: 157-61.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1557/PROC-244-157]
[12]
Yan YC, Faber AJ, De Waal H, Kik PG, Polman A. Erbium- doped phosphate glass waveguide on silicon with 4.1 dB/cm gain at 1.535 μm. Appl Phys Lett 1997; 71(20): 2922.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.120216]
[13]
Gao R, Norwood RA, Teng CC, Garito AF. Rare-earth-doped polymer optical waveguide amplifiers. Proceeding at Organic Photonic Materials and Devices II. In: Proc SPIE; 2000; p. 3939: 12.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1117/12.386365]
[14]
Guo Q, Ghadiri R, Weigel T, et al. Comparison of in situ and ex situ methods for synthesis of two-photon polymerization polymer nanocomposites. Polymers (Basel) 2014; 6: 2433-4.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/polym6072037]
[15]
Eldada L, Shacklette LW. Advances in polymer integrated optics. IEEE J Sel Top Quantum Electron 2000; 6(1): 54-68.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/2944.826873]
[16]
Schulz H, Burtscher P, Mädler L. Correlating filler transparency with inorganic/polymer composite transparency. Compos, Part A Appl Sci Manuf 2007; 38(12): 2451-9.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesa.2007.08.006]
[17]
Tan MC, Patil SD, Riman RE. Transparent infrared-emitting CeF3:Yb-Er polymer nanocomposites for optical applications. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2010; 2(7): 1884-91.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/am100228j] [PMID: 20533832]
[18]
Boyer JC, Johnson NJJ, van Veggel FCJM. Upconverting lanthanide-doped NaYF4−PMMA polymer composites prepared by in situ polymerization. Chem Mater 2009; 21(10): 2010-2.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/cm900756h]
[19]
Chinya I, Sen R, Dhar A. Synthesis and characterization of transparent erbium–ytterbium co-doped polymer nanocomposites for fabrication of polymer optical preform. Phys Status Solidi Appl Mater Sci 2017; 214(5): 1600685.
[20]
Asunskis DJ, Bolotin IL, Hanley L. Nonlinear optical properties of PbS nanocrystals grown in polymer solutions. J Phys Chem C 2008; 112(26): 9555-8.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/jp8037076]
[21]
Du H, Xu GQ, Chin WS, Huang L, Ji W. Synthesis, characterization, and nonlinear optical properties of hybridized CdS-polystyrene nanocomposites. Chem Mater 2002; 14(10): 4473-9.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/cm010622z]
[22]
Elim HI, Ji W. Ultrafast optical nonlinearity in poly(methylmethacrylate)-TiO2 nanocomposites. Appl Phys Lett 2003; 82: 2691.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.1568544]
[23]
Kulyk B, Sahraoui B, Krupka1 O, et al. Linear and nonlinear optical properties of ZnO/PMMA nanocomposite films J Appl Phy 2009; 106: 6.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.3253745]
[24]
Jin L, Wu H, Morbidelli M. Synthesis of water-based dispersions of polymer/TiO2 hybrid nanospheres. Nanomaterials (Basel) 2015; 5(3): 1454-68.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/nano5031454] [PMID: 28347075]
[25]
Zhou M, Wei Z, Qiao H, Zhu L, Yang H, Xia T. Particle size and pore structure characterization of silver nanoparticles prepared by confined arc plasma. J Nanomater 2009; 2008: 968058.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2009/968058]
[26]
Shobhana E. X-Ray diffraction and UV-Visible studies of PMMA thin films. Int J Mod Eng Res 2012; 2(3): 1092.
[27]
Zhang YY, Shen LF, Pun EYB, Chen BJ, Lin H. Multi-color fluorescence in rare earth acetylacetonate hydrate doped Poly methyl methacrylate. Opt Commun 2013; 311: 111-6.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.optcom.2013.08.045]
[28]
Bukowska A, Bukowska W, Hus K, Depciuch J, Parlińska-Wojtan M. Synthesis and Characterization of New functionalized polymer-Fe3O4 nanocomposite particles. Express Polym Lett 2017; 11(1): 2-13.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.3144/expresspolymlett.2017.2]
[29]
Parlak O, Demir MM. Toward transparent nanocomposites based on polystyrene matrix and PMMA-grafted CeO2 nanoparticles. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2011; 3(11): 4306-14.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/am200983h] [PMID: 21970464]
[30]
Clabel H, Rivera, JL, Siu Li VAG, et al. Near-infrared light emission of Er3+ -doped zirconium oxide thin films: An optical, structural and XPS study. J Alloys Compd 2015; 619: 800-6.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2014.09.007]

Rights & Permissions Print Cite
Article Metrics
9
1
© 2024 Bentham Science Publishers | Privacy Policy