Free volume micro probe study of silver ions implanted in polycarbonate

Positron lifetime, UV-VIS absorption and differential scanning calorimetric (DSC) measurements were performed on pristine polycarbonate (PC) and Ag2+-ion-implanted polycarbonate before and after isochronal annealing treatment. UV absorption results indicated the formation of silver clusters in the polymer matrix. The cluster sizes and number of atoms in these clusters were evaluated from UV results. DSC scans for the sample before and after implantation revealed the diffusion of silver ions in the matrix. Further, these results reveal that the T, of the implanted PC decreased from its pristine value before annealing whereas it increased after annealing. This was inferred to be due to the formation of cross-links by Ag2+ ions when implanted but after annealing, the cross-link seemed to decrease, which resulted in increased diffusion. Positron results as a function of annealing temperature revealed that small size clusters may have been formed in the available free volume and there was migration of silver atoms in the polymer matrix due the rearrangement of the polymer chains. From the positron results the activation energy for the diffusion of silver atoms was determined to be 0.6 eV