Development of dielectric, thermal, optical, and electrical properties of carboxymethyl cellulose/polyethylene oxide/MnFe2O4 nanocomposites for flexible energy storage and optical applications

Abstract

The goal of this work is to produce nanocomposites films for energy-storing and optoelectronic applications by incorporating ceramic nanofiller into a polymer blend. By using the one-pot hydrothermal process, manganese ferrite nanoparticles (MnFe₂O₄ NPs) have been created. The produced NPs' size and morphology were verified by TEM, and the findings show that the particles are shape spherical and average size particles of around 21.45 nm. Using the casting approach, a series of polymer nanocomposites (PNCs) comprising carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and polyethylene oxide (PEO) have been created with various contents of MnFe₂O₄ NPs: 2.0, 5.0, 8.0, and 12.0 wt%. The XRD results, which display the changes in PNCs' microcrystalline properties, revealed a decline in the samples' degree of crystallinity. FTIR spectroscopy has been used to verify that PNCs are properly formed and that functional groups are present in the nanocomposites. Using a UV–Vis spectrophotometer, the optical properties were examined. The absorbance coefficient was calculated for each sample. As the nanoparticle content increased, so did the E_g decreased both direct and indirect of the PNCs. An increase in MnFe₂O₄ loading improved the thermal characteristics of the nanocomposites, indicating enhanced thermal stability of the films due to nanoparticle-to-CMC/PEO blend interaction. The adding of MnFe₂O₄ nanoparticles to the CMC/PEO matrix enhances the charge conduction mechanism, as seen by the doped samples' noticeably improved conductivity findings. As frequency increased, the dielectric loss (ε″) and dielectric constant (ε′) values decreased. The produced sample (8 % MnFe₂O₄/CMC/PEO) is the best option for energy-storing and optoelectronic applications like supercapacitors and sensors due to the structural changes and improvements made to the optical, thermal, and dielectric properties.