• Abodief, Hala M.
• Alzahrani, Eman
• Alharbi, Zeinab M.
• Alsalmah, Hessa
• Al-Muntaser, A. A.
• Saeed, Abdu

Abstract

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:sec><jats:label /><jats:p>In the present work, sol–gel‐synthesized titanium oxide nanoparticles (TiO<jats:sub>2</jats:sub> NPs) were added to polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) to create polymer nanocomposites (PNCs) samples. The preparation was carried out via the solution casting method. The synthesized TiO<jats:sub>2</jats:sub> NPs have a tetragonal anatase phase and an average grain size of 15.7 nm. XRD analysis reveals that the TiO<jats:sub>2</jats:sub> NPs' addition to PVC/PMMA causes a decrease in the crystallinity of PNCs films. Infrared Fourier analysis demonstrated the interplay/complexity between the PVC/PMMA blend and TiO<jats:sub>2</jats:sub> NPs. The UV/visible spectrum of the PVC/PMMA blend showed two absorbance peaks at 278 and 208 nm, which may result from the n → π* and π → π* transitions. Also, optical bandgaps for indirect and direct allowed transitions decreased with increasing TiO<jats:sub>2</jats:sub> NPs concentration. The samples' AC electrical conductivity and dielectric properties were measured at room temperature. As the TiO<jats:sub>2</jats:sub> NPs content in the nanocomposite rises, a percolating network begins to emerge inside the composite, demonstrating that AC electrical conductivity obeys Jonscher's law. Additionally, it has been demonstrated that nanoparticle concentration leads to a higher composite dielectric loss and dielectric constant. These findings suggest the possibility of using the prepared nanocomposites in capacitive energy storage and optoelectronic devices.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Highlights</jats:title><jats:p><jats:list list-type="bullet"> <jats:list-item><jats:p>PVC/PMMA‐TiO<jats:sub>2</jats:sub> nanocomposites' films were fabricated via the solution casting method.</jats:p></jats:list-item> <jats:list-item><jats:p>Adding TiO<jats:sub>2</jats:sub> NPs to PVC/PMMA reduces the crystallinity of the PNCs films.</jats:p></jats:list-item> <jats:list-item><jats:p>The allowed direct and indirect bandgaps decreased with rising TiO<jats:sub>2</jats:sub> NPs content.</jats:p></jats:list-item> <jats:list-item><jats:p>AC conductivity, impedance, and dielectric characteristics were discussed.</jats:p></jats:list-item> <jats:list-item><jats:p>The findings indicate the use of prepared samples in optoelectronic devices.</jats:p></jats:list-item> </jats:list></jats:p></jats:sec>

Topics

• nanoparticle
• nanocomposite
• grain
• grain size
• phase
• x-ray diffraction
• dielectric constant
• casting
• titanium
• size-exclusion chromatography
• electrical conductivity
• crystallinity
• polymer blend