Estimation of structural and optical properties of transparent PS/ZnO nanocomposite foils for UV shielding and photonic applications

Abstract

The structural and optical characteristics of polystyrene (PS) and ZnO nanoparticles embedded in polystyrene as polymeric nanocomposite foils (PS/ZnO) were examined. The sol–gel process was utilized to make ZnO nanoparticles with a diameter of less than 50 nm. The solution casting process was used to prepare pure PS and PS/ZnO nanocomposite foils. The PS/ZnO nanocomposite foils were very transparent in the visible region as-synthesized, but due to substantial absorption in the UV area, absorbent peaks were formed at 264 nm and 364 nm, and these foils serve as UV absorbers. X-ray diffractometer (XRD) of ZnO embedded polystyrene nanocomposite foils studied the crystal structure of the flexible foils. Optical properties and optical constants including band gap were studied by transmittance, absorbance, and reflectance spectra that are obtained by UV–Vis spectrophotometer. The Wemple DiDomenico single oscillator model was used to estimate the dispersion energy parameters ([Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], optical moments ([Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], the density of states ([Formula: see text]/[Formula: see text]), dispersion of refractive index ([Formula: see text], and plasma frequency ([Formula: see text] of the investigated foils. Semi-empirical relations were used to estimate the nonlinear index of refraction ([Formula: see text] and third-order optical nonlinear susceptibility ([Formula: see text]. PS/ZnO nanocomposite foils operate as UV absorbents and are a promising preference for photonic applications due to their optical characteristics.