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Teflon AF/Ag nanocomposites with tailored optical properties

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 March 2011

H. Eilers ,
A. Biswas ,
T.D. Pounds ,
M. Grant Norton  and
M. Elbahri
H. Eilers*
Affiliation:
Institute for Shock Physics, Washington State University, Spokane, Washington 99210
A. Biswas
Affiliation:
Institute for Shock Physics, Washington State University, Spokane, Washington 99210
T.D. Pounds
Affiliation:
School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington 99164
M. Grant Norton
Affiliation:
School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington 99164
M. Elbahri
Affiliation:
Chair for Multicomponent Materials, Faculty of Engineering, Christian Albrechts University, D-24143, Kiel, Germany
*
a) Address all correspondence to these authors. e-mail: eilers@wsu.edu
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Abstract

Teflon AF/Ag nanocomposites with various metal concentrations were fabricated by an evaporation process. Transmission electron microscopy examination showed that for low metal concentrations, the silver formed isolated individual nanoparticles. At higher metal concentrations, percolating metallic networks within the polymer matrix were formed. Optical absorption measurements showed a transition from individual plasmon absorption peaks for individual Ag nanoparticles to broadband optical absorption for the metallic networks. The absorption profile closely matches the solar radiation spectrum for an intermediate metal concentration of 45%. Thus, these novel polymer-metal nanocomposites have significant potential for photovoltaic applications.

Keywords

AbsorptionNanoscaleOptical properties
Type
Rapid Communications
Information
Journal of Materials Research , Volume 21 , Issue 9 , September 2006 , pp. 2168 - 2171
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2006

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