Modification in the structural, optical, thermal, electrical, and dielectric properties of poly(methyl methacrylate)/poly(vinylidene fluoride) blend through the incorporation of Ni/ZnO nanohybrid for optoelectronic and energy storage devices

Abstract

Abstract In order to produce suitable poly(methyl methacrylate)/poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PMMA/PVDF) films for optoelectronic and power storage uses, Ni-doped ZnO nanoparticles were added to PMMA/PVDF films. This was done in order to generate a synergistic interaction between the superior electrical characteristics of Ni and the remarkable optical characteristics of ZnO NPs. The production of Ni/ZnO in wurtzite hexagonal phase with a normal grain size of 19 nm was verified by the findings of the selected-area diffraction of electrons and X-ray diffraction techniques. By using FTIR measurements, the interaction of polymers with Ni/ZnO has been studied. The raising of the Ni/ZnO content steadily redshifted the optical band gap, although the Urbach energy demonstrated a contrary trend. With various nanoparticle concentrations, the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) results revealed an enhancement in the temperature of melting of the PMMA/PVDF-Ni/ZnO nanocomposites films as well as an decrease in the level of crystallinity. At room temperature, an AC impedance study was carried out to check the electrical conductivity. All samples' ac conductivity spectra confirmed Jonscher's power law (JPL) behavior. The PMMA/PVDF-1.5%Ni/ZnO nanocomposites were discovered to have a greater ionic conductivity (σac) of 1.10 10− 5 S/cm at ambient temperature. Research on dielectric permittivity has additionally been carried out in order to comprehend the charge storage characteristics. The findings of the experiments showed that these PMMA/PVDF-Ni/ZnO films would provide excellent options for thermal insulators, cutting-edge microelectronics, capacitive storage of energy, optoelectronic technology and other applications.