The Role of the Polymer Matrix on the Energy Band Gap of Nanocomposites of Aluminium, Silver and Zinc Oxide

Achieving optimal optical properties for polymers matrix with Al, Ag and ZnO nano composites has received considerable attention due to their broad applications in advanced optical devices. Employing three unique polymers PS, PMMA, and PVA further compounded the outcomes. Energy dispersive X-ray imaging showed integrity for samples with different filler concentrations of Al, Ag, and ZnO nanoparticles. Furthermore, our UV visible transmittance spectrums showed low transmittance in the UV range but demonstrated an opposing correlation with nanoparticle concentrations. During the calculation of the energy band gap, it is found that all nanocomposite have redshifted energy band gaps. (As a result, the energy band gap decreased to 4.09 eV, 4.49 eV, and 4.73 eV for nanocomposites of PS/Al, PMMA/Al, and PVA/Al respectively. The PS/Ag, PMMA/Ag, and PVA/Ag had a band gap energy decreased to 4.08 eV, 4.50 eV, and 4.80 eV respectively. The PS/ZnO, PMMA/ZnO and PVA/ZnO had optical energy band gap of 3.87 eV, 4.64 eV and 4.67 eV respectively.