Effect of Irradiation on the Optical Properties of the PMMA/Kao Composite

The paper presents and discuss the results of a study on the effect of an argon laser radiation on optical properties of the polymethacrylate-kaolin composite, prepared by the casting method. As a polymer hardener the Iraqi Dwikhelh Kaolin, with the granular size of 50 mu m, was used. Carboxy methyl cellulose (CMC) solution was used as adsorbent to the kaolin surface to convert it to a clear solution that interacts with the organics. 2 wt% of kaolin was added to the PMMA solution. The optical properties of the obtained complexes, such as absorbance, refractive index and reflectivity were measured before and after the light irradiation. The other optical parameters like finesses coefficient, Brewster angle and the optical conductivity were calculated as function of the wavelength. The obtained results show an increase of the all above mentioned properties after irradiation with the Argon laser, resulting from the kaolin addition to PMMA, which leads to formation of a cohesive and associated mixture of molecules.