Thermal, optical, and dielectric investigations of PVC/La0.95Bi0.05FeO3 nanocomposites

This research, reports the effect of La0.95Bi0.05FeO3 nanoparticles incorporation on the thermal, optical and dielectric characteristics of PVC polymer matrix. The PVC/La0.95Bi0.05FeO3 nanocomposites are prepared at RT by means of solution mixing and casting procedure. XRD analysis declared partial crystallinity of pure PVC film, and La0.95Bi0.05FeO3 nanoparticles have an orthorhombic structure. SEM micrographs depicted the uniform surface morphology of PVC film, and La0.95Bi0.05FeO3 nanoparticles are sparsed very well in the PVC matrix. Thermogravimetric analysis revealed that PVC/La0.95Bi0.05FeO3 films with enhanced thermal stability more than pristine film of PVC. The optical energy gaps, E-opt, estimated utilizing Tauc's formula decreased from 5.05 to 4.34 eV while Urbach energy, Delta E, increased with increasing La0.95Bi0.05FeO3 wt%. Dielectric measurements revealed that both the static and high frequency dielectric constants decreased with increasing La0.95Bi0.05FeO3 content. The energy required to move an electron from one site to infinity, W-M, increased from 0.66 to 1.46 eV with increasing nanoparticles concentration. Finally, the resonance frequency of PVC/La0.95Bi0.05FeO3 nanocomposite films shifted to lower values and the quality factor decreased with increasing La0.95Bi0.05FeO3 percentage. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.