Photocurable polymer composites are of considerable interest for the fabrication of photonic structures. In this work, a nanocomposite based on acrylate monomers filled with arsenic sulfide and gold nanoparticles was investigated. This material was also employed for holographic recording of diffraction gratings. Since holographic recording involves two processes – polymerization and nanoparticle diffusion – it is crucial to study the influence of nanoparticles on the kinetics of the polymerization process. It was found that the introduction of either chalcogenide nanoparticles or gold nanoparticles into the composition inhibits polymerization. However, their simultaneous incorporation in certain ratios leads to an increase in the conversion degree and enhances the diffraction efficiency of the gratings. Moreover, the ratio between the photoinitiator and nanoparticles plays a key role, as it affects both the polymerization rate and nanoparticle diffusion, thereby determining the diffraction efficiency of the gratings.
Burunkova et al. (Fri,) studied this question.