Synthesis of multifunctional flexible polymeric PVA/PEG blend nanocomposite films filled with AZO nanoparticles

In the present work, flexible polymeric nanocomposite film of poly(vinyl alcohol)/poly(ethylene glycol) (PVA–PEG) blend filled with aluminum (Al)-doped zinc oxide (AZO) nanoparticles has been successfully synthetized and characterized. The solution casting technique was used to prepare pure PVA–PEG polymeric blend and polymeric blend nanocomposite (PNC) films filled with different concentrations of AZO nanoparticles. The morphological, structural and optical properties of AZO NPs and PNC films were investigated using different techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD) scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) spectroscopy and UV–VIS–NIR spectrophotometer. The XRD results shows that nanoparticles are well distributed in the host blend matrix. TEM observation reveals an average particle size about 49 nm. The contact angle analysis was carried out for PNC films to investigate the effect of AZO filling upon the nanocomposite water wettability. Loading PNC with nanopowder AZO influences their electrical optical properties. The addition of AZO nanoparticles in the polymeric blend reduces its band gap and increases its DC electrical conductivity. The antibacterial activity of the prepared nanocomposite films was tested against various pathogenic bacteria including two types of gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Bacillus) and two types of gram-negative bacteria (Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) and Escherichia coli (E. coli)). The assay results suggested that the pure blend film has no activity against all types of bacteria. While filled PNC films exhibit a significant antibacterial activity against S. aureus, Bacillus and P. aeruginosa bacteria, they have no any activity against E. coli bacteria. This activity is improved with increasing the filler concentrations in blend matrix. Finally, the obtained results suggest that the prepared PNC films can be a potential multifunctional candidate for different applications, especially optoelectronic devices and biomedical uses.