Synthesis and N anocomposites of Oleic Acid Functionalized ZnO Nanoparticles with Poly(Methyl Methacrylate)

Abstract

UV shielding materials become hot research topic in material sCience and attracts enormous research interest of scientists. Polymerlinorganic nanocomposites of a suitable UV -absorbing inorganic nanomaterials and a transparent polymer matrix for designing transparent UV protecting films is an interesting area of research. Thus, we fabricated successfully visible light traversing and UV-shielding poly(methyl methacrylate)(PMMA)1 ZnO nanocomposite films by incorporating UV -absorbing ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) into transparent PMMA matrix. ZnO nanoparticles were first synthesized via Wet chemical method from zinc acetate dihydrate and sodium hydroxide. The successful synthesis of the ZnO NPs was confirmed by UV-Vis spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction studies. For enhanced dispersion in organic solvents and compatibility with PMMA matrix, the synthesized ZnO NPs were functionalized with oleic acid. The functionalization was confirmed with FTIR spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The functionalized ZnO NPS were found to form a transparent and stable dispersion in several organic solvents as compared with the unfunctionalized ZnO NPs where the NPs settled down and phase separated, thus further confirming the successful functionalization of the ZnO NPs with oleic acid. Thin transparent nanocomposite films of PMMA/functionalized ZnO NPs of various compositions were fabricated by solvent casting method and characterized for their thermal stability, tensile strength, and UV absorption capability. The UV -Visible spectroscopy of the composite films revealed that these transparent nanocomposite films are fairly transparent to visible light and absorbs the UV light, and the absorbance increased with increasing the ZnO