Enhancement of the optical and electrical properties of poly ethyl methacrylate/polyvinyl chloride-zinc sulphide (PEMA/PVC@ZnS) ternary nanocomposite films
Nuha Al‐Harbi
Abstract
Our research introduces a novel ternary nanocomposite consisting of polyethyl methacrylate/polyvinyl chloride-Zinc sulphide nanoparticles (PEMA/PVC@ZnS). Zinc sulphide (ZnS) nanoparticles were produced via a chemical method and then dispersed at different concentrations (0.02, 0.05, 0.08, and 0.1 wt%) in a single step within the PEMA/PVC blend. The resulting PEMA/PVC@ZnS nanocomposite films were analyzed to investigate their spectroscopic and electrical properties. The dielectric parameters of the samples were also studied in detail. X-ray diffraction (XRD) data indicated an increase in the amorphous region and demonstrated the interaction between ZnS and PEMA/PVC. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) results confirmed the specific interactions in PEMA/PVC@ZnS nanocomposites. The synthesized films showed a distinct absorption band at 432 nm, which was attributed to the ZnS surface plasmon resonance. As the concentration of ZnS in PEMA/PVC increased, the band gap energies decreased for both direct and forbidden transitions. Optical parameters such as the extinction coefficient (k), refractive index (n), dielectric constants ( ε ′ and ε ''), optical conductivity (σ (opt. ), and photoluminescence (PL) were also studied. The values of dielectric permittivity and dielectric modulus from AC measurement of PEMA/PVC@ZnS nanocomposite films increased with increasing ZnS content. The data suggest that PEMA/PVC@ZnS nanocomposite films exhibit excellent optical and electronic properties, making them suitable for use in various electric and optoelectric applications.