Optical properties studies for PVA/Gd, La, Er or Y chlorides based on structural modification

The effect of addition of some rare earth chlorides (ErCl3, GdCl3, LaCl3 and YCl3) on the structural and optical properties of PVA has been investigated. FTIR spectra indicated the oxidation degree in the synthesized PVA doped samples due to formation of carbonyl groups C=O along PVA main chain. Both shifting of peak position to lower wavenumber and decreasing in the peak intensity of C-H symmetric stretching were attributed to the absorption of OH of the PVA films: The optical transmittance and reflectance of the doped samples were measured and optical parameters were calculated. The energy gap showed a rare earth elements concentration-dependence and was found to be 5.4 eV for PVA doped by 10wt% of ErCl3. Furthermore, the optical conductivity for doped PVA samples was also investigated. (C) 2015 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.