No abstract

No abstract

The CuO nanoparticle doped poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) nanocomposite films were prepared by the solution casting method. The structure of the prepared CuO nanoparticles and PVA nanocomposite films were confirmed by FTIR spectroscopy and XRD. The (101) crystal plane of PVA was observed at 19.8 in XRD. The size of the CuO nanoparticles was determined as 20 nm using Scherrer's formula. It was further confirmed with HRTEM. The surface morphology of the nanocomposite films was investigated using SEM. The optical properties of the prepared CuO nanoparticles and PVA nanocomposite films were analyzed by UV-Visible spectroscopy. The band gap of PVA was decreased after the incorporation of CuO in PVA. The thermal stability of the pure PVA and its nanocomposites was examined using TGA to assess their thermal degradation temperature at five different heating rates. The thermal stability of PVA nanocomposites was increased as compared with pure PVA. The non-isothermal degradation kinetic studies were also carried out to determine the energy of activation (E a ) for the degradation process using four different kinetic models. The tensile strength and Young's modulus of PVA nanocomposite films were notably increased with the increasing concentration of CuO nanoparticles. POLYM. COMPOS., 40:3737-3748, 2019. POLYMER COMPOSITES-2019 FIG. 4. HRTEM image of (a) CuO nanoparticles, (b) SAED pattern of CuO, and (c) HRTEM image of 6 wt% CuO loaded PVA nanocomposites system. [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]

No abstract

Effect of SrO nanofillers on the physical and chemical properties of newly prepared PVA nanocomposites was investigated in‐depth in this article. The structure of SrO nanopowder and PVA nanocomposites were analyzed using FTIR for surface chemistry and XRD for crystallographic nature. The extent of dispersion and particle size of SrO nanopowders were obtained from TEM micrographs. The average particle size of the SrO nanopowder was 57 nm. The uniformly dispersed SrO nanofillers in the host PVA matrix were observed from the TEM micrographs. The prepared PVA nanocomposites displayed a high absorption in the UV region. The thermal stability of PVA nanocomposites was enhanced after the addition of SrO nanofillers. The nonisothermal degradation study was carried out using different kinetic models for the prepared PVA nanocomposites. The Young's modulus (Y) and tensile strength of the PVA nanocomposites were higher than that of the pristine PVA. The DC conductivity of PVA was also increased when the PVA was embedded with the SrO nanoparticles. Highlights The novel PVA nanocomposites embedded with SrO nanofillers were prepared by the solution casting method. The band gap of PVA was decreased gradually while increasing the concentration of SrO nanofillers. The thermal degradation of polymer composites was studied under nonisothermal heating using several kinetic models. The thermal stability of PVA was enhanced after the addition of SrO nanofillers. The electrical and mechanical Properties of PVA nanocomposites were also improved.