Effect of Copper Sulfide Nanoparticles on the Optical and Electrical Behavior of Poly(vinyl alcohol) Films

Abstract

Polymer nanocomposite films based on poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) containing copper sulfide nanoparticles (CuS) were prepared using in situ chemical reduction and casting techniques. The synthesized nanocomposites were analyzed using x-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscope, and ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy. The XRD pattern reveals that the CuS nanoparticles incorporated in the PVA showed a crystalline nature. The observed FTIR band shifts indicate the intermolecular interaction between the CuS nanoparticles and the PVA matrix. The absorbance of nanocomposite samples increased with increasing CuS concentration. The optical band gap energy was estimated using Tauc’s formula and it decreased with increasing dopant concentration. The conductivity and dielectric behavior of the samples were studied over the frequency range of 300 Hz to 1 MHz in the temperature range of 30–110°C. The ac conductivity was found to increase with the increase of dopant concentration as well as frequency. Moreover, the variation of frequency exponent (s) indicated that the conduction mechanism was the correlated barrier hopping model. The experimental results reveal that the optical and electrical performance of PVA can be enhanced dramatically by the addition of a small amount of CuS nanoparticles. This improved properties of the PVA/CuS nanocomposite suggest uses in optoelectronic devices.