Fabrication, characterization and effects of CuO nanoparticles on the optical behavior of polypyrrole polymeric films

Abstract

The successful preparation of flexible PPy/CuO nanocomposite consisting of polypyrrole (PPy) with copper oxide (CuO) was achieved. The structural analysis of PPy and PPy/CuO was conducted by EDX, SEM, TEM, and FTIR techniques, which providing the successful fabrications of PPy/CuO nanocomposite films. The EDX analysis of thePPy/CuO nanocomposite reveals the presence of characteristic peaks corresponding to the elements of C, Cu, N, and O, with weight percentages of 47.46%, 9.05%, 19.08%, and 24.41%, respectively. The obtained results provide confirmation that the PPy/CuO nanocomposite film does not exhibit the presence of any impurity components. The FTIR noticed that all peaks of PPy spectrum also showed in the spectra of PPy/CuO nanocomposite films with a little shifts in peaks, in which these shifts increase with increasing contents of CuO nanoparticles. The findings of this study indicate that there are interactions occurring between PPy/CuO. Furthermore, SEM was employed to elucidate the morphological of the (PPy) and PPy/CuO. The SEM demonstrate that the copper oxide (CuO) are evenly distributed within the nanocomposite films. Using Tauc's relation, the band gap and Urbach energy of PPy and PPy/CuO films. were determined. The addition of varying concentrations (2.5%, 5%, and 10%) of CuO to PPy increase the Urbach tail of PPy, resulting in energy values of 1.08 eV, 1.11 eV, and 1.13 eV, correspondingly. Simultaneously, the presence of CuO causes reduction in the band gap of PPy from 3.42 eV to 3.35 eV, 3.32 eV, and 3.30 eV. Consequently, the incorporation of CuO into PPy/CuO composite films induces both structural and optical modifications, rendering these films suitable for utilization in optoelectronic devices.