Spectroscopic Studies of CuO-incorporated PEO Nanocomposite Films for Flexible Optoelectronic Devices

Abstract

Polymer nanocomposites is a promising area of research due to polymers’ unique properties and potential applications in various fields such as automotive, aerospace, defense, and biomedicine. In present work, we report preparation and characterization of copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO NPs)-incorporated polyethylene oxide (PEO) nanocomposites. CuO nanoparticles (5, 10 and 15 wt. %) were incorporated into PEO matrix, and preparation method of solution casting had been employed. These films were characterized by XRD, FTIR, SEM and UV–Vis spectroscopy. SEM Morphological studies revealed the original structure of the CuO nanoparticles in PEO matrix. The crystallinity of composite films decreases with increasing CuO weight percentage. The SEM images confirmed uniform distribution of CuO nanoparticles in composite films. UV–Vis spectroscopy of composite films revealed that absorption is more in UV region with increasing CuO wt.%. This property can be used in preparation of UV filters for glass windows to protect them from UV radiation. With addition of CuO NPs to PEO matrix, optical direct and indirect band gaps decreased from 5.32eV to 5.28eV and from 5.28 to 5.03eV, respectively. These results reveal that PEO-CuO nanocomposite films are useful for UV-shielding devices, tunable bandgap devices, photo sensors, and next-generation flexible optoelectronic devices.