Effect of ZnO/(Co or Mn) ratios on the structure and optical spectroscopy parameters of PVA/PVP/PEG blended polymer

Abstract

In this work, doped polyvinyl alcohol/polyvinyl pyrrolidone/polyethylene glycol (70%PVA/20%PVP/10%PEG) blended polymers with different amount of nano ZnO (Zn0.95X0.05O, X = Co and Mn) were produced using solid reaction and casting procedures. The structure and microstructure of the nanofiller samples and blended polymers were investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Energy-dispersive X-ray analysis; scanning electron microscope and Fourier transform infrared techniques. XRD confirmed the present of the nanofiller over the blend matrix. The effect of kind and ratios of the nanofiller on the degree of crystallinity, transmittance, reflectance, absorbance, extinction coefficient, refractive index, dielectric properties and optical conductivity of the blends was examined using diffused reflectance technique. The optical band gap (Eg) value for PVA/PVP/PEG blend is 3.43 eV and it reduced to 2.57 or 2.71 eV as the blend doped with ZnO/Co or ZnO/Mn, respectively. A 500 nm, the n value for the blend doped with 5 wt % ZnO/Co is 1.67 while the n value for the blend doped with 5 wt % ZnO/Mn is 1.51. All nonlinear optical parameters were enhanced as the blend doped with 5 wt % (ZnO/Co or ZnO/Mn). The rate of reduction of fluorescence intensity and emitted colors from different blends were affected by the kind and amount of the nanofiller.