PHYSICOCHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF PREPARED ZnO/ POLYSTYRENE NANOCOMPOSITES: STRUCTURE, MECHANICAL AND OPTICAL

Nanocomposites of polystyrene nano sphere (PS) with different loading of nano zinc oxide (ZnO) were prepared by two different methods, blend and in situ method. The prepared films of the synthesized nanocomposites materials were characterized by energy dispersive investigation (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and the morphology of ZnO/PS nanocomposite were investigated by transmission electron microscope (TEM). Phase composition and microstructure analysis shows that ZnO nanoparticles content has an influence on the crystal structure and morphology of ZnO/PS nanocomposite. The effect of ZnO nanoparticles on linear optical properties was studied in the PS lattice. The obtained results indicate that, the refractive index has been increased while the energy gap decreased with increasing ZnO nanoparticles contents. The improving of mechanical properties of ZnO/PS nanocomposite is verified due to the addition of ZnO nanoparticles.