XRD and SEM Investigation of Swift Heavy Ion-Irradiated Polyvinylidene Fluoride Thin Films

Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) films of different thicknesses are irradiated with 100 meV Ag-ion and 75 meV Oxygen-ion beams at different fluences to study the effects of swift heavy ion (SHI) irradiation in PVDF. The change in physical, chemical, and surface morphological properties of irradiated films are investigated using x-ray diffraction, Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and energy dispersive analysis by x-ray (EDAX) techniques by taking unirradiated (pristine) films as reference. The diffraction pattern shows that PVDF polymer is in semi-crystalline form and possesses crystalline α-, β-, and γ-phases. A decrease in the crystallinity and crystallite size has been observed when PVDF is irradiated with 100 meV Ag-, and also Oxygen ions at a higher fluence of 5.675 × 10¹² ions/cm². However, an increase in crystallinity and decrease in crystallite size are observed when PVDF is irradiated with oxygen-ion beam at lower fluence 5.625 × 10¹¹ ions/cm². The structural parameters such as degree of crystallinity, crystallite size, microstrain, and dislocation density have also been estimated. EDAX result shows that the chemical composition of PVDF is invariant under SHI irradiation, which is in agreement with our earlier results of FTIR. FESEM analysis shows granular microstructure with small porosity on SHI irradiation.