Structural, Bandgap Analysis, Electrical Properties, and Photocatalytic Applications of PMMA/Nd₂O₃ Composite Membranes: Towards Multifunctional Materials for Optoelectronic and Environmental Applications

Doped with high-quality neodymium ions, poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) [(PMMA)-x wt% Nd³⁺] by using the traditional solution casting method, polymeric composite films with [x = 0, 0.025, 0.1, 0.25, 1.25, and 2.5 wt%] were formed. The XRD, SEM, UV–Vis–NIR, and electrical characteristics were used to characterize the films. According to XRD research, some interactions between PMMA and Nd₂O₃ result in a decrease in composite crystallinity. According to SEM, Nd₂O₃ particles were uniformly distributed throughout the host matrix. With Nd₂O₃ filler rose, the size of the particles also increased, leading to rising agglomeration. Incorporating Nd³⁺ ions into the polymer chains of (PMMA) significantly changed the optical energy gaps, causing the indirect optical gap to fall from 4.82 to 4.47 eV and the direct optical gap to drop from 4.98 to 4.85 eV. The behavior of the Urbach energy is the opposite of that of the bandgap energy. Additionally, the measured dielectric constant of the investigated composites showed a very alluring dielectric constant for the dielectric media. The examined films’ dielectric constant and dielectric loss both decline exponentially as the incident frequency rises, while their AC electrical conductivity enhances as the Nd³⁺-ions content rises. The produced sheets were then used in the artificial UV-induced photodegradation of Methylene Blue. They demonstrated good potential for immobilizing Nd³⁺ for the photodegradation of contaminants typically present in water.