Effect of ion and electron beam irradiation on surface morphology and optical properties of PVA

Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) is a well-known friendly polymer for paper-making, textiles, and a variety of coatings, biomedical applications such as artificial pancreas, synthetic vitreous body, wound dressing, artificial skin, and cardiovascular device. In this paper, ion/electron beam is employed to get insight into the irradiation effect on surface morphology and optical properties of PVA polymer. UV-Vis spectra are recorded to investigate the effect of induced defects on the optical band gap and the formed carbon clusters size. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is used to relate and investigate surface morphology and optical properties of the target polymer with different doses (15, 30 and 60 min). Also, PVA polymer is subjected to theoretical studies by using semi-empirical PM7 quantum chemical method.