The Critical Role of Cross-linking: Achieving Optimal Conductivity via Percolation in PVC/Ag2WO4/GO Nanocomposites Under High Gamma Dose

The Critical Role of Cross-linking: Achieving Optimal Conductivity via Percolation in PVC/Ag2WO4/GO Nanocomposites Under High Gamma Dose | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article The Critical Role of Cross-linking: Achieving Optimal Conductivity via Percolation in PVC/Ag 2 WO 4 /GO Nanocomposites Under High Gamma Dose Soad Saad Fares, Ahmad Hassan Korna, Badriah Alshahrani This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8086007/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This study investigates the influence of gamma irradiation (0-150 kGy) on the functional properties of PVC nanocomposite films incorporating Ag 2 WO 4 /GO fillers. The nanofillers successfully reduced the initial optical bandgap (E g ) of PVC from ≈ 3.87 eV to ≈ 3.65 eV. Irradiation consistently narrowed the E g further, reaching a minimum of ≈ 3.10 eV at 100 kGy. This was attributed to radiation-induced dehydrochlorination, which formed pi-conjugated polyene sequences, confirmed by FTIR and SEM analysis. Concurrently, the AC electrical conductivity (σ ac ) showed an inverse relationship with E g , generally increasing with dose. However, a crucial σ ac anomaly was observed: the maximum conductivity was only achieved at the highest dose (150 kGy), coinciding with a slight widening of the E g from its minimum. SEM micrographs revealed that 150 kGy induces maximum cross-linking, creating a dense network that establishes the percolation threshold for the conductive filler clusters. This demonstrates that the ultimate charge transport efficiency is governed by the structural morphology (percolation) rather than solely the electronic bandgap width (E g ). Gamma irradiation is thus established as a tunable method for transforming this composite into a gamma-ray-sensitive semiconducting material with optimal electrical properties at 150 kGy. PVC/Ag2WO4/GO nanocomposites gamma irradiation optical properties thermal Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure 7 Figure 8 Figure 9 Figure 10 Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files GraphicalAbstractImage.jpg Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8086007","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":554629188,"identity":"ccc8b2e2-8491-4cb1-9ab9-fb8b4eec7dc0","order_by":0,"name":"Soad Saad Fares","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Al-Baha University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Soad","middleName":"Saad","lastName":"Fares","suffix":""},{"id":554629190,"identity":"26d144d1-9545-47b4-9dfb-3ba959d2f618","order_by":1,"name":"Ahmad Hassan 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07:27:08","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1815891,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"ImpactofGammaIrradiationontheStructural77.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8086007/v1_covered_e0c71a47-b532-4298-a770-13cbda489118.pdf"},{"id":97672188,"identity":"2cc20fa5-88ad-4572-93c0-ca114953cb38","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-12-08 09:34:35","extension":"jpg","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":285409,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"GraphicalAbstractImage.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8086007/v1/efd0f625217598de3869372e.jpg"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Critical Role of Cross-linking: Achieving Optimal Conductivity via Percolation in PVC/Ag\u003c/strong\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e2\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWO\u003c/strong\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e4\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e/GO Nanocomposites Under High Gamma Dose\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"PVC/Ag2WO4/GO nanocomposites, gamma irradiation, optical properties, thermal","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8086007/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8086007/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThis study investigates the influence of gamma irradiation (0-150 kGy) on the functional properties of PVC nanocomposite films incorporating Ag\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eWO\u003csub\u003e4\u003c/sub\u003e/GO fillers. The nanofillers successfully reduced the initial optical bandgap (E\u003csub\u003eg\u003c/sub\u003e) of PVC from \u0026asymp;\u0026thinsp;3.87 eV to \u0026asymp;\u0026thinsp;3.65 eV. Irradiation consistently narrowed the E\u003csub\u003eg\u003c/sub\u003e further, reaching a minimum of \u0026asymp;\u0026thinsp;3.10 eV at 100 kGy. This was attributed to radiation-induced dehydrochlorination, which formed pi-conjugated polyene sequences, confirmed by FTIR and SEM analysis. Concurrently, the AC electrical conductivity (σ\u003csub\u003eac\u003c/sub\u003e) showed an inverse relationship with E\u003csub\u003eg\u003c/sub\u003e, generally increasing with dose. However, a crucial σ\u003csub\u003eac\u003c/sub\u003e anomaly was observed: the maximum conductivity was only achieved at the highest dose (150 kGy), coinciding with a slight widening of the E\u003csub\u003eg\u003c/sub\u003e from its minimum. SEM micrographs revealed that 150 kGy induces maximum cross-linking, creating a dense network that establishes the percolation threshold for the conductive filler clusters. This demonstrates that the ultimate charge transport efficiency is governed by the structural morphology (percolation) rather than solely the electronic bandgap width (E\u003csub\u003eg\u003c/sub\u003e). Gamma irradiation is thus established as a tunable method for transforming this composite into a gamma-ray-sensitive semiconducting material with optimal electrical properties at 150 kGy.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"The Critical Role of Cross-linking: Achieving Optimal Conductivity via Percolation in PVC/Ag2WO4/GO Nanocomposites Under High Gamma Dose","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-12-05 14:14:58","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8086007/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"23b6a552-18f7-48e9-8fe1-97bf0dc6de69","owner":[],"postedDate":"December 5th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-02-10T07:25:38+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-12-05 14:14:58","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8086007","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8086007","identity":"rs-8086007","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}