Fabrication and morphological characterizations of immobilized silver-loaded titanium dioxide nanoparticles/polyvinyl alcohol nanocomposites

Abstract

This study is concerned to the immobilization of silver-loaded titanium dioxide (AT) nanoparticles (NPs) into or onto polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as matrix. The nanocomposites films were fabricated via solution casting method. The optical properties and morphology of the NPs and nanocomposites were characterized by dynamic light scattering, transmission electron microscopy, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, contact angle measurements, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The obtained results of FE-SEM analysis for nanocomposites indicate that the 40-80 nm AT NPs are homogenously distributed in PVA matrix. The unsymmetrical parts of peaks and valleys for nanocomposites in three-dimensional AFM images were related to the residual of AT NPs in outsides, although in the majority of locations it showed similar patterns of peaks and valleys. The studies of nanocomposites by using UV revealed that existence of the AT NPs were increased the shield properties against UV light. Reinforcement of PVA with AT nanomaterials enhances the properties of the prepared films and develops their applications in different industrial fields such as packaging. © 2012 Taylor & Francis.