In-situ fabrication of CuO nanoparticles inside PVA matrix via heat treatment with modified optical, electrical and mechanical properties of the composite films

The present study offers an in-situ approach for the fabrication of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) -copper oxide (CuO) nanocomposites where environmentally benign water is used as a solvent for the synthesis of nanocomposites. Nanocomposite films are prepared by incorporating copper chloride salt in PVA solution at different concen-trations under the effect of different heating periods. Spectroscopic and diffraction analyses confirm the for-mation of CuO nanoparticles inside the PVA matrix as a fraction of Cu+2 ions transformed to CuO nanoparticles at ambient and also under the effect of heat treatment in open atmosphere. Morphological analyses reveal the formation of CuO nanoparticles in the agglomerated form. The agglomeration of nanoparticles promotes the fluorescence behavior of the CuO nanoparticles which enhances upon heating from 2 to 6 min. Mechanical studies exhibit variation of the tensile strength and elongation at break with concentration and heating period. The tensile strength reduces from 37.0 to 22.6 MPa whereas the elongation at break increases from 230.0% to 276.0% on increasing the salt concentration from 0.25 to 10 wt% without heating. However, due to heating of the composite film for 6 min, the tensile strength increases and elongation at break decreases for each salt concentration. The results obtained from the electrical measurements confirm the enhancement of the conduc-tivity on increasing the salt concentration, whereas a decrement in conductivity is observed on heating the composite film. The fabricated PVA-CuO nanocomposites may be useful for formulating suitable optically active stretchable conducting films.

Automated summary

This study presents a method for fabricating poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) -copper oxide (CuO) nanocomposites using water as a solvent. The addition of copper chloride salt to the PVA solution and heating produces CuO nanoparticles. The agglomeration of nanoparticles enhances the fluorescence behavior of CuO nanoparticles. The mechanical and electrical properties of the nanocomposites vary with concentration and heating period.