Investigation of Structural, Morphological, Mechanical, Thermal and Optical Properties of PVA-ZnO Nanocomposites

In recent years, the production of composite films has been gained importance and composites consist of organic and nonorganic parts has been attracted particular interest. In this study, will be changed to pristine zinc oxide (ZnO) and zinc oxide/polyvinyl alcohol (ZnO/PVA) with different ZnO concentrations were prepared by hydrothermal method and solution casting methods, respectively. X-ray diffraction measurements were utilized to investigate the structural properties of ZnO powders and the results support that the formation of a hexagonal structure. The crystalline size of prepared powder was calculated using the Williamson-Hall equation and found as 83 nm. Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis revealed that the ZnO doped PVA film was successfully prepared. The morphology and optical properties of the produced films were investigated with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Uv-vis spectrometer. The optical band gap of PVA, 5, 10, 15 and 20% of ZnO/PVA samples were found as 5.42, 5.37, 5.36, 5.31 and 5.21 eV, respectively. Mechanical properties of the samples were examined. It was that in 20% ZnO/PVA samples the maximum tensile strength was detected. Additionally, the thermal properties and surface chemistry of the films was investigated.

Automated summary

This study focuses on the preparation of pristine zinc oxide (ZnO) and zinc oxide/polyvinyl alcohol (ZnO/PVA) composite films with different ZnO concentrations using hydrothermal and solution casting methods. The structural, morphological, optical, mechanical, thermal, and surface chemical properties of the films were investigated, with the 20% ZnO/PVA sample showing the highest tensile strength.