Fabrication and characteristics of PMMA–PEG/SiO₂–SiC quaternary nanocomposites for gamma ray shielding and flexible optoelectronics applications

The objective of the present work is to create of new nanocomposites made from silicon dioxide (SiO₂)/silicon carbide (SiC) nanostructures doped poly-methyl methacrylate (PMMA)/polyethylene glycol (PEG) polymeric blend to use in gamma ray attenuation and optoelectronics applications. The PMMA–PEG–SiO₂–SiC nanocomposites’ optical properties were investigated. According to the obtained data, when the SiO₂/SiC NPs ratio increases to 4.8%, the absorption (A) of PMMA–PEG increased by approximately 69.7% while the transmission (T) decreased by approximately 64.19%. When the SiO₂/SiC NPs ratio reached 4.8%, the energy gap (E_g) reduced from 4.95 eV for PMMA–PEG to 3.74 eV. These findings may be crucial for the utilization of PMMA–PEG–SiO₂–SiC nanocomposites in optical and gamma ray applications. When SiO₂/SiC NPs were added to PMMA–PEG up to 4.8% at a wavelength of λ = 540 nm, the extra optical constants like the coefficient of absorption (α), index of refractive (n), coefficient of extinction (k), real (ε₁) and imaginary (ε₂) dielectric constants, and conductivity (σ_op) enhanced by approximately 36.47%, 79.92%, 34.84%, 60.71%, 27.53%, and 27.28%, respectively. These behaviors make the PMMA–PEG–SiO₂–SiC nanocomposites suitable optical materials for electronic and optical applications. Lastly, as nanoparticle concentrations rise, the attenuation coefficients for gamma radiation increased. The outcomes demonstrated that the nanocomposites of (PMMA–PEG–SiO₂–SiC) exhibit high attenuation coefficients.