Preparation and Characterization of Transparent ZnO/Polymethyl methacrylate Nanocomposites

Transparent ZnO/PMMA (Poly methyl methacrylate) nanocomposites with high-UV shielding efficiency were reported in this paper. The zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles were synthesized chemically via the homogeneous precipitation method using different concentration of capping agent (2-Mercaptoethanol). The structural properties of the as-prepared ZnO nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffractometer (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) measurements. The transparent ZnO/PMMA nanocomposites were subsequently prepared by dispersing as-prepared ZnO nanoparticles in PMMA via solution mixing and then solution casting method. The optical properties of ZnO/PMMA nanocomposites, namely visible light transparency and UV light shielding efficiency, were studied using an ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectrophotometer. The optical properties of the as-obtained nanocomposites were shown to depend on ZnO particle size. The nanocomposite containing small sizes ZnO nanoparticles with an average particle size of (similar to 10 nm) possessed the most optimal optical properties, namely high-visible light transparency and high-UV light shielding efficiency, which are desirable for many important applications.