Morphology, structure and optical properties of PVA nanocomposites reinforced with bismuth oxide nanoparticles and carbon quantum dots

In this study, bismuth oxide (Bi 2 O 3 ) and carbon quantum dots (CQDs) were synthesized, structural, morphological and optical properties of the obtained samples were investigated. Novel polymer nanocomposite films were obtained by using the casting method with introducing the produced Bi 2 O 3 and CQDs nanoparticles to polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) at different rates. The structural features of the resulting polymer nanocomposite films were investigated by X-ray diffraction technique. The optical parameters of composite films were investigated using the absorption and transmittance spectra. The increase in the amount of Bi 2 O 3 additives in the composite PVA films decreased the optical transmittance and energy band gap. Again, the increasing Bi 2 O 3 -doped to the composite films increased the reflectance, absorption coefficient and extinction coefficient values. The refractive index increased from 1.946 to 1.980 for Bi 2 O 3 doped samples and the refractive index reached 2.468 with introducing CQDs to polymer composite film. The yellowness of polymer nanocomposite films was remarkably enhanced with CQDs addition. This novel material has potential use in fields in different fields, including optoelectronics and sensors.