Preparation, Characterization and Photothermal Study of PVA/Ti₂O₃ Composite Films

In this work, flexible photothermal PVA/Ti₂O₃ composite films with different amount (0 wt%, 5 wt%, 10 wt%, 15 wt%) of Ti₂O₃ particles modified by steric acid were prepared by a simple solution casting method. The microstructures, XRD patterns, FTIR spectra, UV-Vis-NIR spectra thermo-conductivity, thermostability and photothermal effects of these composite films were all characterized. These results indicated that Ti₂O₃ particles were well dispersed throughout the polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) matrix in the PVA/Ti₂O₃ composite films. And Ti₂O₃ particles could also effectively improve the photothermal properties of the composite films which exhibited high light absorption and generated a high temperature (about 57.4 °C for film with 15 wt% Ti₂O₃ amount) on the surface when it was irradiated by a simulated sunlight source (1 kW/m²).