Theoretical and experimental study of electronic, structural and optical properties of PVDF-SnO₂:Zr nanocomposites for novel optoelectronic applications

Abstract

Current research elaborates theoretical and experimental investigations on SnO2:Zr added PVDF nanocomposites. The electronic and optical properties of Zr doped SnO2 are studied using the Wien2k code. After obtaining a good optical response of SnO2 at various Zr concentrations, thin films of PVDF-SnO2:Zr nanocomposites are prepared using the co-precipitation method. SEM analysis of SnO2:Zr reveals agglomerated nanoparticles with hollow regions, while nanofiller added PVDF shows acicular smooth morphology, which improves the photoresponse of materials. EDX predicts the correct elemental composition in each case. Optical band gap of PVDF-SnO2:Zr nanocomposites thin films is significantly reduced, which helps in good conduction. The optical properties of SnO2 are enhanced by varying Zr contents, and consequently, the addition of these nanofillers to the PVDF matrix results in an improvement of optical response in the visible region. Enhanced absorption and conductivity with the effect of increasing nanofillers contents and an increase in dielectric constant emphasize the potential uses of these polymer nanocomposites in novel photovoltaic, solar, optoelectronic, and energy storage devices.