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Structural, thermal, and linear optical properties of SiO 2 nanoparticles dispersed in polyvinyl alcohol nanocomposite films
Author(s) -
Soliman Tarek S.,
Vshivkov Sergey A.,
Elkalashy Shimaa I.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
polymer composites
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.577
H-Index - 82
eISSN - 1548-0569
pISSN - 0272-8397
DOI - 10.1002/pc.25623
Subject(s) - materials science , polyvinyl alcohol , nanocomposite , crystallinity , fourier transform infrared spectroscopy , scanning electron microscope , nanoparticle , thermal stability , polymer , composite material , polymer nanocomposite , chemical engineering , nanotechnology , engineering
In the present work, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) films were prepared for polymer optoelectronic applications, in which the SiO 2 nanoparticles were incorporated through a sonication technique followed by a solution casting method. The structure of PVA/SiO 2 films was evaluated using the experimental results attained by X‐ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and scanning electron microscope (SEM) examinations. A thermal stability study of the nanocomposite films was performed. UV‐vis spectra were used to investigate the optical properties of PVA/SiO 2 nanocomposite films. The XRD results confirmed the semicrystalline nature of the PVA. The SEM results ascertained the homogeneity of the SiO 2 nanoparticles in the polymer matrix. From the study, a simultaneous increase of SiO 2 nanoparticle content decreased the direct optical band gap and Urbach energy; however, the refractive index and extinction coefficient were increased. The acquired nanocomposite films could be utilized in polymer optoelectronic applications.