Effect of zinc oxide nanorods on the structural, thermal, dielectric and electrical properties of polyvinyl alcohol/carboxymethyle cellulose composites

Highlights: • ZnO nanorods were prepared by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). • PVA/CMC-ZnO NRs nanocomposites samples was prepared by a casting method. • Interactions of PVA/CMC blend and ZnO nanorods and its amorphous phase were confirmed by FTIR and XRD. • DSC results show a single Tg and confirms the miscibility between PVA and CMC in polymer blend. • The optimum Ac conductivity is found to be ∼PVA/CMC-ZnO (0.8 wt%) with activation energy ∼0.42eV. -- Abstract: ZnO nanorods were prepared by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) have lengths ranging between 104.12 and 307.64 nm and diameters ranging between 21.17 and 55.88 nm determined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Polyvinyl alcohol/carboxymethyl cellulose nanocomposites and Zinc oxide (ZnO) were prepared by casting method. The prepared samples were characterised by various methods. The results of XRD analysis depict theamorphous nature of these polymer samples and the degree of amorphousity is increased due to the addition process. The interaction of the ZnO NRs with the PVA/CMC blend was identified by Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The dispersion of dopant within the polymer matrix was supported by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). DSC and TGA was utilized to study the thermal behavior of the films and the highest conducting polymer material is lower the glass transition temperature. The conductivity and dielectric behaviors were analyzed by complex impedance spectroscopy as a frequency function at different temperature. The ac conductivity is found to obey Jonscher's law, whereas dc conductivity is seen to exhibit Arrhenius behavior and increases with temperatures and the activation energy of the films with an increasing of ZnO NRs content was decreased. The dielectric properties of pure blend and nanocomposites have been enhanced due to the addition of ZnO NRs and are found to be highly temperature dependent. The frequency exponent (s) have been well fitted with the proposed correlation equation of the barrier hopping model. Significant increase in dc and ac conductivities in these nanocomposites samples makes them a potential candidate for electrochemical device applications.