Structural, Optical and Acoustical Characterization of Polyvinyl Alcohol Dispersed Cadmium Selenide Nanocomposites

Abstract

Nanosized semiconducting cadmium selenide particles were successfully distributed within the polymer matrix of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) utilizing the method of heat induced chemical synthesis. The structural characterization of the prepared nanocomposite was conducted using X-ray diffraction for the phase analysis of the nanocrystallites, Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was used for size and shape determination of the nanoparticles and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy for identification of the various chemical functional groups possessed by the PVA/CdSe nanocomposites. Various properties of hybrid nanocomposites have been widely scrutinized by researchers during the past few decades because of their unique properties and versatility. The present study involved the behavioral analysis of various optical properties, such as optical absorbance (A), transmittance (T), optical band gap (E_g), refractive index (n), extinction coefficient (k), real and imaginary dielectric constants (ε₁ and ε₂) and optical conductivity (σ_opt), of nanocomposite thin films produced by solution casting at temperatures ranging from 303 K to 343 K. The present study also deals with the evaluation of various ultrasonic acoustical properties, like adiabatic compressibility (β_ad), acoustic impedance (Z), intermolecular free length (L_f), relaxation time (τ) and attenuation coefficient, α, as a function of the square of the frequency (ƒ¹), i.e., (α/ƒ¹), to permit detailed understanding of behavioral changes in particle-fluid interactions with variation in the solution temperature of the nanocomposite.

Keywords:

• acoustical properties
• polyvinyl alcohol/Cadmium selenide nanocomposite
• structural properties
• UV-VIS optical properties

Acknowledgements

The authors are highly obliged to the Head, Department of Mathematics, Statistics & Physics and the Dean, College of Basic Sciences & Humanities, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana for the financial assistance and provision of the necessary facilities for the successful completion of our research.