A simple method for the sonochemical synthesis of PVA/ZrO2-vitamin B1 nanocomposites: Morphology, mechanical, thermal and wettability investigations

Abstract

Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) based nanocomposites (NCs) filled by various weight percent of modified ZrO2 nanoparticles (NPs) with vitamin B1 (VB1) up to 7wt% were fabricated via ultrasonication method then was cast to thin films. The ultrasonication was applied for the preparation and modification process asan easy, safe and fast method. Ultrasonic was responsible for great homogeneities of NPs into PVA matrix, which could not be achieved by mechanical or magnetically stirring. The creation of polymer NCs and changes in the structural properties were examined by X-ray diffraction. FT-IR spectroscopy indicated the possible interactions of the ZrO2-VB1 NPs with the PVA backbones and also, existence of absorption bands related to PVA and ZrO2 NPs in the NC structures. The distribution of nano-fillers and uniform morphology of the NCs showed that the ZrO2-VB1 NPs were homogeneously dispersed in the polymer matrix in the nanosized scale. UV–Vis analysis shown that the the optical absorption were improved by evolution of ZrO2-VB1 NPs content. The tensile strength of PVA film was increased significantly with increasing the ZrO2-VB1 NPs content. Thermal gravimetric analysis confirmed that NCs displayed higher thermal stability than the pristine PVA. Also, water contact angle analysis indicated that the hydrophilicity of NC films was enhanced with increasing the concentration of ZrO2 NPs.