UV-Radiation and TiO2 Nanoparticles Effects on Physical Properties of PVA/CMC/TiO2 Nanocomposite Films

Abstract

Fabrication of nanocomposite films of polyvinyl alcohol/carboxymethyl cellulose (PVA/CMC) blended with Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs) by a modest solution casting technique is investigated. Also, TiO2 NPs and UV-irradiation effects for different intervals (12, 26, 40, and 48 hours) on the morphology (FESEM), structure (XRD), composition (FTIR) and optical properties (UV-Vis) of as-prepared films are inspected. FESEM images display that the morphology of PVA/CMC/TiO2 nanocomposite films is altered due to the strong influence of TiO2 NPs and UV exposure. The XRD spectra indicate that the amorphous phase of the samples has changed (decline or enhancement) due to UV exposure.  The FTIR spectra demonstrate that the UV-irradiation period had a favourable impact on polymer structure by exhibiting some interesting IR peaks. Furthermore, the UV-Vis examination illustrates that the increased UV-irradiation times (12 h to 40 h) and TiO2 NPs addition improved the absorption intensity of the as-prepared films. Interestingly, the Energy gap Eg of the nanocomposite films was tuned from 4.47 eV to 5.01 eV with increased irradiation time (12 h to 40 h). In contrast, due to a higher increased UV-irradiation time of 48 h, the Energy gap Eg value of nanocomposite film was decreased to 4.62 eV. That can be attributed to the strong effect of UV exposure, which influenced the creation of structural defects. Finally, these findings prove that the PVA/CMC/TiO2 nanocomposite films have an amazing chance to be used in important optoelectronic applications.