Optimized poly(methyl methacrylate)/mixed‐phase silver vanadate nanocomposites with tuned optical properties and hydrophobicity

• Published in: Journal of applied polymer science Vol. 141; no. 33
• Main Authors: Yousef, Ezz, Ali, M. K. M., Allam, Nageh K.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken, USA John Wiley & Sons, Inc 05.09.2024; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Contact angle; High temperature; Hydrophobicity; nanocomposite; Nanocomposites; optical; Optical properties; Optoelectronics; Photonic band gaps; PMMA; Polymer matrix composites; Polymethyl methacrylate; silver vanadate; Thermal stability; Vanadates; Weight loss; Wettability
• DOI: 10.1002/app.55831
• ISSN: 0021-8995

The fast advancements in technology have generated significant interest in optoelectronic materials. Nevertheless, the difficulty of creating affordable materials with exceptional optical characteristics is an ongoing challenge. Therefore, the objective of this work was to tune the optical properties of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) by embedding silver vanadate (SV) in the polymer matrix. Moreover, the wettability test of the fabricated composite membranes showed a hydrophobic behavior, with the PMMA film containing 0.6 wt.% SV showed a contact angle of 86.75 ± 0.7°. Furthermore, SV showed high thermal stability with a maximum weight loss of 0.74% at 830°C, which is very high thermal stability at high temperatures. In addition, the 0.6 wt.% SV@PMMA film exhibited a maximum weight loss of 96.7% at 785°C. Moreover, the 0.6 wt.% SV@PMMA film showed the lowest indirect band gap energy (2.02 eV) compared to the other films and pure SV NPs. The findings demonstrate the potential of the synthesized films for optoelectronic applications. The addition of silver vanadate to PMMA film showed good indirect band gap energy of 2.02 eV with exceptional hydrophobocity.