Optical characterization and electrical behavior of bismuth oxide nanoparticles modified PEO/PVP matrix via laser ablation for electrical applications

Abstract

The effect of bismuth oxide (Bi2O3) nanoparticles synthesized via laser ablation route on polymeric materials composed of PEO/PVP blend was studied. The future utilization of these materials is highly dependent on their structural, morphology, thermal, and electrical qualities being improved. The observed disappearance of the patterns at 2θ = 19.6° and 23.7° in XRD can be attributed to the elevated temperature resulting from the laser beam, which in turn causes the breakup of PEO-PVP chains which confirm the incorporation of Bi2O3 nanoparticles in PEO-PVP complex. The crystal size of Bi2O3 nanoparticles has been determined to be 20 nm. FT-IR spectra confirms the interactions between Bi2O3 nanoparticles and PEO-PVP matrix. Ultraviolet/Visible (UV–Vis) analysis obtains reducing in band-gap by increasing Bi2O3 nanoparticles concentration upon the blend. The change in surface morphology is confirmed by FESEM images by appearing white spots on the surface of PEO-PVP and increasing cluster size of PEO of composite by addition of Bi2O3 NPs. Also, the thermal stability is improved by shifting Thermogravimetric (TG) curves doped with Bi2O3 NPs toward higher temperature by increasing ablation time. Electrical conductivity results show reducing in both dielectric constant (ε′) and dielectric loss (ε'') as the frequency rises. The modifications in both optical and electrical conductivity characterization lead to optimizing compositions in electrical applications.