Structural and Band Structure Investigation of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles Incorporated PVA Nanocomposite Films

Abstract The work reported here deals with the fabrication and characterization of iron oxide (Fe3O4) nanoparticles (NPs – IONPs) incorporated polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)-based nanocomposite films. The nanocomposite films, fabricated via solution casting route, have been characterized using advanced analytical techniques including x-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and UV-visible (vis.) spectroscopy. There observed notable changes in the structural phases, crystallite size (2.3 to 2.1 nm), d-spacing (0.131 to 0.134 Å), optical absorption edge (5.12 to 4.84 eV), indirect bandgap (4.99 to 4.68 eV), direct bandgap (5.35 to 5.20 eV), and band tail (0.57 to 0.89 eV) from native PVA to nanocomposite films. The refractive index and optical conductivity enhancements were also observed on incorporating IONPs into the PVA matrix. It could be inferred that a minute loading of IONPs might induce significant alternation in opto-structural properties of the PVA-based nanocomposites for potential optoelectronic applications.