The Investigation of Structural, Optical and Thermal Properties of Nickel Doped CeO2 Integrated PVC Nanocomposite.

PVC nanocomposite (NC) films with cubic CeO₂ and Ni-doped CeO₂ (NDC) have been prepared using a conventional solution-casting technique. The prepared films were characterized with FT-IR spectrometer, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The optical and thermal properties of the films were evaluated using a UV-visible spectrophotometer and TGA/DSC. The optical study revealed a decrease in optical band gap energies (4.19 to 4.06 eV) whereas the increase in other optical constraints such as optical conductivity, Urbach energy, dispersion energy, refractive index, and dielectric constant of PVC NCs than pristine PVC was observed. The XRD patterns showed the presence of cubic crystalline NDC with a relatively narrower principal diffraction peak in the PVC matrix and the nonexistence of unexpected vibrational peaks in the FTIR spectra of PVC NCs confirmed the successful incorporation of nanostructured CeO₂ and NDC into PVC. Thermogravimetric analysis showed the higher thermal stability of NDC/PVC NC than PVC whereas differential scanning calorimetry declared no significant change in the glass transition temperature (T_g) of the NCs. Moreover, a good dispersion of Ni-doped CeO₂ nanofiller was noticed in scanning electron micrographs.