Tuning optical, dielectric, and electrical properties of Polyethylene oxide/Carboxymethyl cellulose doped with mixed metal oxide nanoparticles for flexible electronic devices

Abstract

In the current study, cast synthesis was used to quickly create flexible composite films made of PEO (Polyethylene oxide), CMC (Carboxymethyl cellulose), and ZnO/GO NPs as nanofiller. XRD and FTIR spectroscopy were used to examine the structure of the nanocomposites. They demonstrated the PEO/CMC blend's effective interaction with the ZnO/GO NPs. The UV–Vis optical absorbance was used to estimate the optical properties of pure PEO/CMC blend and nanocomposites films, including energy band gap and Urbach energy. Calculations were made to determine optical properties such as the Urbach energy and energy band gap. With an increase in ZnO/GO NPs weight percentage, the energy band gap decreased, and Urbach energy increased. The ionic conductivity of the polymer nanocomposites has been examined using AC-impedance spectroscopy. The greater ionic conductivity (σ) ∼10–9 S/cm is obtained for PEO/CMC film, and it was increased to ∼ 10–7 S/cm at room temperature by adding 8% ZnO/GO nanofiller. While the AC electrical conductivity increases with frequency, the values of ε′ and ε″ of PEO/CMC- ZnO/GO NPs nanocomposites reduce as the frequency of the electric field increases. It was discovered that the concentration elevation of ZnO/GO NPs increased the values of ε′ and ε″ in the nanocomposites. PEO/CMC–8wt%ZnO/GO nanocomposite having improved optical, dielectric, and electrical properties can be used in various industrial applications such as electric and optoelectronic devices.