Optical and thermogravimetric analysis of Pb3O4/PVC nanocomposites

Pb3O4 nanoparticles were embedded in a Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) polymer matrix with different filler ratios 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 wt%. The nanocomposite films are prepared at room temperature via solution-casting technique. XRD analysis showed that pure PVC film is partially crystalline and Pb3O4 nanoparticles have a tetragonal crystal structure. TEM revealed nearly spherical Pb3O4 nanoparticles with average size around 24.3 nm which is very close to that obtained from XRD. Scanning electron microscopy micrographs indicated a PVC film with uniform surface morphology and Pb3O4 nanoparticles are well dispersed on the PVC surface. The optical band gap, E-opt, values calculated from optical absorption spectra decreased from 5.05 to 4.34 eV with increasing Pb3O4 wt%. Also, both Fermi energy, E-F, and Urbach energy, a dagger E, increased with increasing Pb3O4 filler content. The addition of Pb3O4 nanoparticles increases the solar material protection factor (SMPF) from 99.89 to 99.99%. Thermogravimetric analysis revealed that Pb3O4/PVC nanocomposites have high thermal stability rather than pure PVC film.