Fabrication of Polymer Films with Tin Oxide Nanoparticles Synthesized in Plasma Discharge under the Effect of Ultrasound

Abstract

Samples of tin oxide nanoparticles were synthesized in a plasma discharge under the effect of ultrasonic cavitation. Using solution technology and then melt compounding technology, samples of polymer composite materials with a homogeneous distribution of nanoparticles were obtained. A copolymer of ethylene and vinyl acetate was used as a polymer matrix. Tin oxide nanoparticles in the form of an aqueous suspension synthesized in a plasma discharge under the effect of ultrasound were studied by dynamic light scattering, and it was shown that the synthesized particles have a distribution peak in the size range of 50–60 nm; under ultrasonic treatment, the distribution peak shifts to the region of 30–40 nm. Measuring the electrokinetic potential of the surface of the initial nanoparticles in an aqueous dispersion medium made it possible to establish that, under the effect of ultrasound, tin oxide particles acquire additional active adsorption sites capable of interacting with the functional groups of the polymer matrix. In images of composite material films obtained on a scanning electron microscope, nanoparticles and agglomerates of tin oxide nanoparticles are visible. According to X-ray diffraction and X-ray fluorescence analysis, it was possible to qualitatively confirm the presence of tin inside the polymer film: peaks related to tin oxide nanoparticles are visible in the spectra.