Effect of Sm3+ substitution on structural, optical and dielectric properties of hydroxypropyl cellulose films

Complexes films composed of mixture of hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC) and different concentrations of SmCl3 were prepared by solvent casting technique. Different techniques were used to study the structural changes. The amorphousity of HPC increased with increasing Sm3+ concentration as indicated by XRD and FT-IR results. Optical absorption and fluorescence spectral analysis confirmed the presence of Sm3+ ions. Fluorescence spectra showed that the reddish-orange emission transition 4G5/2 → 6H7/2 is more prominent. The nonlinear variation of the optical parameters with respect to Sm3+ content has been explained. The dielectric properties and ac-conductivity of these films were studied in the frequency range of 20 Hz–3 MHz at room temperature. The decrease in the dielectric constant ε′ was observed with the increase in frequency is due to dielectric dispersion. Both ε′ and dielectric loss ε″ are observed increases as Sm3+ ions concentration increased. The frequency and concentration dependence conductivity were also studied. The results showed that the conductivity increase with increasing both frequency and Sm3+ content. Real part electric modulus M′ was lower at lower frequency but increases as frequency increased. Enhancement of both optical and electrical properties is observed which candidates the prepared films for many applications.