Graphene oxides nanosheets mediation of poly(vinyl alcohol) films in tuning their structural and opto-mechanical attributes

Herein, we report successful incorporation of graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets into poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) matrix by employing solution casting method. The effect of GO loadings on structural, optical and mechanical properties of PVA films was investigated. Most of the optical properties of such films are reported for the first time in the present study. On incorporating GO nanosheets into PVA matrix, the properties of nanocomposites were changed entirely. The tensile strength and Young's modulus of nanocomposites were enhanced. Alongside, a variation in absorption edge, direct/indirect band gap, Urbach energy, refractive index, optical dielectric constant, optical conductivity and dispersion parameters were noticed. The band gap and dispersion parameters were calculated using Tauc's and Wemple-DiDomenico models, respectively. Helpin-Tsai and mixture rule models were employed to calculate Young's modulus. The applied models reinforced the experimental results in the present study. Advanced analytical techniques were employed to characterize the nanocomposites films. The prepared nanocomposites might be used in designing the opto-electronic devices.