• Rouabah, Farid
• Mahdi, Billal

Abstract

<jats:p>This work is focused on the preparation and characterization of poly (vinyl alcohol)/silica gel/Nano-TiO<jats:sub>2</jats:sub>, and the study of titanium dioxide (TiO<jats:sub>2</jats:sub>) nanoparticles (from 1 to 5%) on the properties of poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/silica films. This new material was prepared by the sol-gel method using poly (vinyl alcohol) powder with Tetraethyl Orthosilicate (TEOS) as a precursor source of silica. TEOS was hydrolyzed and condensed in water and ethanol in the presence of hydrochloric acid (HCl) used as a catalyst. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), water absorption, water contact angle, ultraviolet-visible spectrometry (UV-VIS), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) were used to characterize the hybrid films obtained. The PVA/SiO<jats:sub>2</jats:sub>/Nano-TiO<jats:sub>2</jats:sub> films were successfully synthesized. Owing to the FT-IR Analysis, the chemical bonds have clearly shown that the PVA backbone is linked to the (SiO<jats:sub>2</jats:sub>-TiO<jats:sub>2</jats:sub>) network. UV-VIS tests indicated that the hybrid films' UV shielding properties were drastically enhanced as a result of the addition of TiO<jats:sub>2</jats:sub>. According to the TGA tests, the hybrid films are more heat tolerant than neat PVA films. The water contact angle results revealed that TiO<jats:sub>2</jats:sub> nanoparticles used as a doping compound possess an important influence on the hydrophilicity of PVA/SiO<jats:sub>2</jats:sub> as thin films. The film's water resistance has also been enhanced.</jats:p>

Topics

• nanoparticle
• impedance spectroscopy
• compound
• thin film
• thermogravimetry
• titanium
• alcohol
• spectrometry