7 March 2024 | Taha Abdel Mohaymen Taha, Sultan Saud Alanazi, Karam S. El-Nasser, Alhulw H. Alshammari and Ali Ismael
This study investigates the structure-property relationships in PVDF/SrTiO₃/CNT nanocomposites for optoelectronic and solar cell applications. PVDF/SrTiO₃/CNT nanocomposite films were prepared using the solution casting technique. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses confirmed the incorporation of SrTiO₃/CNTs into the PVDF matrix. The addition of SrTiO₃/CNTs nanofillers influenced the crystalline structure, morphology, and optical properties of the films. SEM images showed spherulite morphology, which is a spherical aggregate of crystalline polymer chains. The addition of SrTiO₃/CNTs nanofillers modified the polymer's electronic structure, causing a variation in the energy gap. The addition of 0.1 wt% SrTiO₃/CNTs increased the band gap, refractive index, and nonlinear optical properties of the PVDF films. These improvements indicate the potential of these nanocomposite films in optoelectronic applications such as solar cells, image sensors, and organic light-emitting diodes. The optical band gap of PVDF polymer films increased after incorporating 0.1 wt% SrTiO₃/CNT nanofillers. The static refractive index (n₀) increased with the percentage of SrTiO₃/CNTs nanofillers. The addition of SrTiO₃/CNTs nanofillers increased the polarizability of the polymer molecules and, hence, the nonlinear refractive index. The results demonstrate the potential of PVDF/SrTiO₃/CNTs nanocomposite films as functional materials with competitive optical properties.This study investigates the structure-property relationships in PVDF/SrTiO₃/CNT nanocomposites for optoelectronic and solar cell applications. PVDF/SrTiO₃/CNT nanocomposite films were prepared using the solution casting technique. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses confirmed the incorporation of SrTiO₃/CNTs into the PVDF matrix. The addition of SrTiO₃/CNTs nanofillers influenced the crystalline structure, morphology, and optical properties of the films. SEM images showed spherulite morphology, which is a spherical aggregate of crystalline polymer chains. The addition of SrTiO₃/CNTs nanofillers modified the polymer's electronic structure, causing a variation in the energy gap. The addition of 0.1 wt% SrTiO₃/CNTs increased the band gap, refractive index, and nonlinear optical properties of the PVDF films. These improvements indicate the potential of these nanocomposite films in optoelectronic applications such as solar cells, image sensors, and organic light-emitting diodes. The optical band gap of PVDF polymer films increased after incorporating 0.1 wt% SrTiO₃/CNT nanofillers. The static refractive index (n₀) increased with the percentage of SrTiO₃/CNTs nanofillers. The addition of SrTiO₃/CNTs nanofillers increased the polarizability of the polymer molecules and, hence, the nonlinear refractive index. The results demonstrate the potential of PVDF/SrTiO₃/CNTs nanocomposite films as functional materials with competitive optical properties.