Effect of addition of TiO2 nanoparticles on structural and dielectric properties of polystyrene/polyvinyl chloride polymer blend

The present study deals with the effect of the addition of pure titanium oxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs) prepared by the sol–gel technique on a polystyrene (PS)/polyvinylchloride (PVC) polymer blend of a composition of 50/50 wt. % using the casting method. X-ray diffraction (XRD), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersive x-ray analysis confirmed the preparation of TiO2 NPs in semi-spherical shapes, with the average particle size ranging from 7 to 22 nm. The structural, optical, and dielectric properties of the prepared polymer nanocomposite films are restudied using different tools. In addition, the dielectric properties are studied. XRD and Attenuated Total Reflection-Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy confirmed the complexation and interaction between the PS/PVC polymer blend and TiO2 NPs. HRSEM images reveal that TiO2 NPs appeared as white spots inside the spherical domain of PS/PVC matrices. Optical properties such as absorbance, reflection, bandgap energy, refractive index, and optical dielectric (constant and loss) are studied. These results revealed that TiO2 NPs create inter-bands between valence and conduction bands. The addition of TiO2 NPs to the PS/PVC blend improves the electrical conductivity of the PS/PVC blend due to charge carrier buildup and increased polymeric chain segmental mobility inside the polymeric matrices.