Study of Optical properties of Alpha and Nd:YAG Laser Irradiated Cellulose Nitrate Polymer

Samples from cellulose nitrate ( CN-85) sheets of 0.3 mm thickness irradiated with low and high doses of alpha particles have been post exposed to Q-switched pulsed Nd:YAG laser. In this present work, the effect of laser irradiation on the structural properties of CN-85; have been investigated using absorption and fluorescence. The absorption spectra of only alpha irradiated and Nd:YAG laser irradiated samples are studied and optical band gap energy of the samples are calculated. Optical band gap energy measurements for high doses are more significant as compared to low doses. The increase in the band gap energy might be due to hardening of material which happens as a result of crosslinking of the polymer.