Optical Characteristics and Antibacterial Activity of PVA/ZnO Nanocomposites

Abstract

The process of solution casting was used to create nanocomposites with different amounts of Zinc Oxide nanoparticles (0.001, 0.002, 0.003, 0.004 and 0.005)g. The structural and optical properties of PVA/ZnO nanocomposites were examined.
Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of (PVA/ZnO) nanocomposite films at 0.003 g and 0.005 g shows ZnONPs appear to form groups and disperse well; for the quantity of ZnONPs to (PVA) polymer, it forms varied shapes in specific areas inside the polymer . UV-Visible spectroscopy was utilized to measure the optical properties in the (200-900) nm wavelength range. Experiments have shown that increasing the amount of ZnONPs in nanocomposites enhances the absorbance spectrum and absorption coefficient of PVA polymer. The energy band gap of PVA polymer decreased as the amount of ZnONPs grew. In a research of the antibacterial activity of these nanocomposites, pathogen microorganisms such as Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella similipneumoniae, and Candida albicans were utilized. According to the findings, the chemical nature and shape of the composites have a substantial impact on antibacterial activity, with antibacterial activity increasing as the amount of Zinc Oxide rise.