Abstract
•The optical properties of PVC nanocomposite films could be controlled by metal oxide type and content.•ZnO and SiO2/PVC nanocomposites, suitable to be used as high refractive index lenses.•Al2O3/PVC nanocomposites is suitable for anti-reflection coating applications for solar cells.
Metal oxide/PVC nanocomposites films were synthesized by simple facile deposition method using tetrahydrofuran as a solvent. Different metal oxides types (ZnO, Al2O3 and SiO2) and concentrations (1%, 5% and 10%) were used. The as-prepared PVC nanocomposites films were characterized by SEM, FT-IR and UV–vis spectrophotometer. Optical constants were found to be highly dependent on the type and concentration of the metal oxide. The obtained results showed that by controlling the absorption coefficient and tuning the band gap of the PVC nanocomposites films, we can get materials suitable for anti-reflection coating and high refractive lenses applications.