Preparation and tuning the optical and electrical properties of polyethylene oxide/polyvinyl alcohol/poly(3,4-thylenedioxythiophene): polystyrene sulfonate/CuO-based quaternary nanocomposites for futuristic energy storage devices

Abstract

Polymeric nanocomposites have important industrial and scientific applications because they are flexible, multifunctional, and highly intelligent. Using the solution-casting technique, copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO NPs) of different concentrations (0.4, 0.8, 1.2, and 1.6 wt% to the host blend weight) were added to polymer nanocomposite films made of polyethylene oxide, polyvinyl alcohol, and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEO/PVA/PEDOT: PSS) blend. According to TEM and XRD studies, the CuO NPs of a size range of 20 to 60 nm were extremely pure and had a monoclinic structure. The PEO/PVA/PEDOT: PSS blend's semicrystalline character was reduced by the additional CuO NPs through interactions between the functional groups of blend and nanofiller, according to XRD and FTIR measurements. By adding more CuO NPs, the samples' optical bandgap energies, and UV/visible absorption spectra showed considerable changes. The electrical conductivity, impedance, and dielectric features of the samples were assessed at various frequencies, from 10−1 to 107 Hz. AC conductivity, dielectric permittivity, and dielectric loss all steadily improved as CuO NPs content rose and low permittivity at the high frequencies depicted the favourable nanodielectric features of these hybrid films. The equivalent electrical circuit using the impedance components Z′ and Z″ was introduced. The controllable optical energy gaps, frequency-dependent AC conductivity, and a large extent of composition tuneable permittivity implied the utility of PEO/PVA/PEDOT: PSS/CuO nanocomposites in developing flexible optoelectronic and energy storage devices.