Structural and optical properties of PEO/CMC polymer blend modified with gold nanoparticles synthesized by laser ablation in water

Eco-friendly and cost-effective route using water were employed for the synthesis of gold nanoparticles (AuNP's) via laser ablation technique. Formation of AuNP's were observed through the appearance of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) peak originally located at 520 nm within the UV/Visible spectrum of synthesized sample and approved with Transmission electron microscope (TEM). X-ray diffraction analysis and TEM micrograph shows the formation of fcc crystal structure of nano-sized gold with a diameter ranging between 10 and 25 nm. Virgin samples of polyethylene oxide (PEO) and carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) in combination with their 50/50wt% blend films were synthesized via traditional solution casting techniques. Besides other samples of blend films containing a variable amount of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) within the doping level. Different characterization techniques were employed to study the composite thin film structure. X-ray diffraction pattern reveals a barely noticed increase of the amorphous nature with increasing gold content. FTIR suggests the formation of hydrogen bonding within the composite matrix with an appearance of the characteristic vibrational groups of the constituting matrices regardless of the content of dopant AuNP's. UV/Visible electronic spectra reveal a notable change within the optical energy gap in comparison with the pristine samples attributed to the introduced dopant.