Structural and Optical Modifications in Polyvinyl Alcohol Due to Cr2 O3 Nanoparticles Additives Concentration, and Gamma Irradiation
Nanosized chromium oxide Cr2O3 was prepared and mixed with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) to produce nanocomposite films. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy were performed to study the crystallinity and size of nano-Cr2O3. Based on the results, the average particle size of the Cr2O3 was found to be 29 nm. The effects of nanosized chromium oxide Cr2O3 concentration and gamma dose on the structural and optical properties of PVA have been studied. The resultant effect of Cr2O3 concentration on the properties of PVA has been investigated using XRD and UV spectroscopy. The results reveal that the addition of Cr2O3 to PVA up to 0.80% leads to a more compact structure of PVA, resulted in an improvement in the isotropic nature of the polymer samples due to the increase in the refractive index. In addition, the effect of gamma irradiation on the 0.50% Cr2O3/PVA nanocomposite has been investigated. Samples from the 0.50% Cr2O3 nanocomposite were irradiated with gamma doses in the range 200–1 kGy. It is found that the irradiation in the dose range 200–800 Gy causes cross-linking that increases the amorphous regions and gives polymer resilience.