Tuning the bandgap and absorption behaviour of the newly-fabricated Ultrahigh Molecular weight Polyethylene Oxide- Polyvinyl Alcohol/ Graphene Oxide hybrid nanocomposites

Abstract

Graphene nanosheets are promising nanofillers to the tunable structure, properties of materials, and optical bandgap. This search focuses on investigating the new nanocomposites of Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene oxide (UHMWPEO) with different loading ratios of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) reinforced with graphene oxide (GO) by applying the modified solution-sonication-casting method. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) shows strong interfacial interaction between the blended polymers and GO nanosheets in the nanocomposites. X-Ray diffraction (XRD) reveals a significant shifting in the PEO and reduction in the crystallinity. Optical microscopy (OM) images exhibit fine homogeneity of the polymer in the matrix with excellent dispersal of GO in nanocomposites as supported by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Attractively, the samples with a higher ratio of UHMWPEO exhibit better optical behavior, and great improvements were presented after the contribution of GO. UV-visible spectroscopy has characterized the absorption, absorption coefficient, real and imaginary, bandgap, and other parameters. The allowed bandgap was significantly enhanced by reducing up to 80%, whereas the forbidden bandgap was improved by up to 160% of the nanocomposites. Additionally, nanocomposites exhibited significant adsorption of radiation-ray, especially after the contribution of GO. The findings are promising as various applications could come to the fore: radiation protection, spectroscopy devices, and other applications.