Abstract
In this work, we prepared composites of functionalized polyvinyl alcohol by NiO nanoparticles with of 1.0–5.0 wt%. Crystal structure analysis were well studied by XRD, Raman and FTIR. The optical properties of the functionalized PVA have been deeply characterized. XRD analysis reveals the polycrystalline feature of pure and functionalized PVA, containing both amorphous and crystalline phases. The structure of the PVA films is influenced by adding the nanoparticles. The dual optical properties exhibit the features of both PVA and dopant materials. Clear change in the optical properties of PVA was observed with various NPs content that has been increased up to 5%. The optical band gap of PVA was changed from 5.4 eV for 0.1% NiO up to higher value at 0.4% NiO. Interesting is the appearance of another indirect band at lower energy. This band gap energy was recorded at 3.8 and 3.36 eV at 0.1% NiO, and 2.85 and 2.3 eV at 0.5% NiO for various phonon energies. The other important optical parameters such as refractive index, dielectric, absorption coefficient, and optical conductivity were evaluated. The observations propose the applicability of the prepared thick film for optoelectronic applications.
•Different contents of metal oxides of NiO nanoparticles were fabricated.•PVA pure and doped with these nanoparticles were studied.•Optical properties of PVA and PVA doped with different contents of NiO nanoparticles were studied.•The doping process of metal or metal oxide NPs is considered as a suitable tool to control the properties of PVA.