Structural and linear/nonlinear optical characteristics of flexible polypyrrole/CuO polymeric composite films

The composite (PPy/CuO) films are created using the solution casting solution method by mixing the polymer polypyrrole (PPy) with copper oxide nanoparticles (CuONPs) at different concentrations of CuO (4%, 6% and 8%). The XRD confirms the effective fabrication of the composite (PPy/CuO). The impact of CuO on the optical and structural characteristics was studied. The addition of CuO enhances the refractive indices ([Formula: see text] of PPy from 1.42 for pure PPy to 1.55 for PPy with 4% CuO, and further to 1.69 for PPy with 8% CuO. The dispersion energy of pure polypyrrole (PPy) is 4.55[Formula: see text]eV, which increased to 5.31[Formula: see text]eV when doped with 4% CuO. Furthermore, the increasing of CuO concentration to 6% and 8% resulted in higher dispersion energies, respectively, of 5.87 and 6.14[Formula: see text]eV. The oscillation energy [Formula: see text] decreased from 4.43[Formula: see text]eV for PPy to 3.76, 3.41 and 3.25[Formula: see text]eV for PPy/4%CuO, PPy/6%CuO and PPy/8%CuO, correspondingly. The introduction of CuO into the PPy polymer results in modifications to its optical characteristics. Additionally, there was an observed rise in the plasma frequency from [Formula: see text][Formula: see text][Formula: see text] for PPy to [Formula: see text][Formula: see text][Formula: see text] for PPy/8%CuO. The findings of this study offer empirical support for the possible use of PPy/CuO films in optical devices.