Impact of ZnO on the spectroscopic, mechanical, and UPF properties of Fe2O3-tough polystyrene-based nanocomposites

• DOI: 10.1007/s10854-021-07182-w
• Publication Date: 2021-10-13T00:57:21Z
• Authors: Amany M. El Nahrawy; Ahmed S. Montaser; Ahmed M. Bakr; Ali B. Abou Hammad; A. M. Mansour
• Keywords: Polystyrene

The dispersion behaviors of various contents of nanoparticles in a polymer matrix must be studied to obtain a good distribution and connectivity of the nanoparticles. In the research described here, Fe2O3/ZnO-modified tough polystyrene (TPS/Fe2O3-(0.0–0.7 mol.%) ZnO) membrane nanocomposites were synthesized by sol–gel process and evaluated for use in optoelectronic and UV protection fields. These membrane nanocomposites were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV–vis spectroscopy, and terahertz spectroscopy (THz). FTIR and XRD confirmed the chemical structure and semi-crystalline behavior of the prepared nanocomposites. The changes in optical properties were related to the increase of oxygen vacancies owing to the Zn2+ doping addition. Direct allowed bandgap transitions were observed in the prepared samples with values of the energy gap ranging from 2.6 to 1.9 eV. The mechanical properties were examined through tensile and elongation tests. Contact angle tests were used to monitor the hydrophilicity and hydrophobicity of the prepared membranes. UV protection factor (UPF) measurements were used for measuring the UV protection efficiency of the TPS membranes loaded with ZnO-doped Fe2O3. Hydrophobicity, mechanical properties, and UPF results were influenced positively with increasing dopant concentration, especially up to 0.5%, but then declined.