Doping and Irradiation Dependence of Electrical Conductivity of $Fe^{3+}$ and $Ni^{2+}$ Doped Polyvinyl Alcohol Films

PVA and doped PVA films were prepared by solution casting. The Change in electrical conductivity of pure PVA and transition elements $FeCl_3$ and $NiCl_2 \cdot 6H_2O$ doped PVA films with and without γ-irradiation in the temperature range 50-130°C has been investigated using four point probe technique. The dc electrical conductivity increases with increase in dopant concentration, with temperature and γ-irradiation. The results revealed that γ-irradiation enhances the electrical conductivity. The variation of electrical conductivity σ with temperature, before and after irradiation is due to the intermolecular hydrogen bonding between $Fe^{3+}$ with OH group of PVA and $Ni^{2+}$ with OH group of PVA. We found that $Fe^{3+}$ doped PVA films show higher conductivity than $Ni^{2+}$ doped PVA films.