Synthesis, characterization and electrical properties of polyvinyl chloride doped with zinc oxide nanoparticles

This work used AC impedance techniques to investigate the AC electrical properties of the synthesized polyvinyl chloride (PVC)/zinc oxide (ZnO) nanocomposite films. By using the casting method, PVC/ZnO nanocomposite films with weight% concentrations of 2.5, 5.0, 7.5, and 10.0% ZnO were prepared. Every mixture was prepared in a film and cast into a glass mold measuring 5 cm by 5 cm. The nanocomposites samples were characterized using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). For the produced film under study, the following electrical properties were examined: AC conductivity ( σac ) real dielectric constant (∈'), imaginary dielectric constant (∈"), real electrical modulus (M''), and imaginary electric modulus (M"). The temperature ranges tested were 293-313 K and the frequency range was 2-6 MHz. The findings demonstrated that the frequency and concentration of ZnO nanoparticles in the PVC polymer matrix affected the behavior and characteristics of the PVC/ZnO nanocomposite films. Furthermore, the study's findings indicate that when temperature rises, σac increases dramatically. The remaining parameters, however, i.e., ∈', ∈", M' and M" are temperature independent.