Optical Properties of Poly(2-(5-bromo benzofuran-2-yl)-2-oxoethyl methacrylate)/Organoclay Nanocomposites

Novel nanocomposites of benzofuran-containing polymer poly(2-(5-bromo benzofuran-2-yl)-2-oxoethyl methacrylate) with different contents of organoclay were prepared and characterized with FTIR, XRD and SEM techniques. The thermal decomposition temperature of poly(BOEMA)/organoclay nanocomposites is higher than that of pure poly(BOEMA) about 5–14 °C at 10 % weight loss. The optical characterization was tested with a UV–VIS spectrophotometer. Transmittances of nanocomposites decreased to lower values by organoclay loading. Dispersion parameters such as steepness parameter, single-oscillator parameter, average oscillator position and strength, and moments of the imaginary part of the optical spectrum were changed as a function of organoclay nanofiller. As the organoclay content increased to 5 % in the polymer matrix, the existence of wide-band tails increased to 1.30 eV whereas the optical energy gap decreased to 2.92 eV. Analysis reveals that the type of transition is the indirectly allowed one.