Effect of vanadium pentoxide on the mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties of poly(vinyl alcohol)/vanadium pentoxide nanocomposites

• Published in: Journal of applied polymer science 2011-09, Vol.121 (5), p.2870-2876
• Main Authors: Wacharawichanant, Sirirat, Wutanasiri, Nareerut, Srifong, Paveena, Meesangpan, Usarat, Thongyai, Supakanok
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Alcohols; Applied sciences; Composites; Degradation; Dispersions; Exact sciences and technology; Forms of application and semi-finished materials; Materials science; mechanical properties; Nanocomposites; Nanoparticles; Polymer industry, paints, wood; Polymers; Polyvinyl alcohols; Technology of polymers; thermal properties; Thermal stability; Vanadium pentoxide
• ISSN: 0021-8995; 1097-4628; 1097-4628
• DOI: 10.1002/app.33850

In this study, we examined the effect of vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) on the mechanical, thermal, and morphological properties of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/V2O5 nanocomposites. The PVA/V2O5 nanocomposites were prepared by solution mixing, followed by film casting. The results show that the Young's moduli of the resulting nanocomposites films were higher than the pure PVA modulus with increasing V2O5 content, and it reached a maximum point at about 0.4 wt % V2O5 content at 8.55 GPa. The tensile strength and stress at break increased with increasing V2O5 content. The addition of V2O5 did not affect the melting temperature. The crystallization temperatures of PVA were significantly changed with increasing V2O5 content. The 5% weight loss degradation temperature of the nanocomposites was measured by thermogravimetric analysis. The degradation temperatures of the V2O5 nanocomposites increased with increasing filler content and were higher than the degradation temperature of pure PVA; this showed a lower thermal stability compared to those of the nanocomposites. The results show that the thermal stability increased with the incorporation of V2O5 nanoparticles. The dielectric constant of PVA had a tendency to improve when the dispersion of particles was effective. The morphology of the surfaces the nanocomposites was examined by scanning electron microscopy. We observed that the dispersion of the V2O5 nanoparticles was relatively good; only few aggregations existed after the addition of the V2O5 nanoparticles at greater than 0.4 wt %. In perspective, the addition of 0.4 wt % V2O5 nanoparticles into PVA maximized the mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011