Nano-oxides of metal particles imbedded polyethersulfone films: morphology, structural and mechanical studies

Abstract

This research paper investigates the impact of loading nano-oxides of zinc and copper metal particles into a polyethersulfone (PES) matrix to enhance its structural and mechanical responses. The co-precipitation method was adopted for the synthesis of metallic oxides consisting of zinc and copper. The presence of strain in metallic oxide NPs illustrated in metallic oxide-loaded PES films arises due to the interaction between NPs and PES. As a result of NPs and PES interactions, the particle size of PES has also been increased in PES blended films. Furthermore, we observed that the mechanical properties of PES-loaded films have been improved as the tensile strength was increased from 2.63 to 5.65 MPa, Young’s modulus was enhanced from 8.92 to 10.02 MPa by adding ZnO NPs, whereas the more prominent increase in mechanical properties has been noticed in case of CuO NPs loaded PES blended films. The present work suggested that the loading of nano-oxides in PES enhances the mechanical strength of PES, which may significantly contribute to the field of mechanical engineering as oil level indicators, part for miking machines, and automatic beverage dispensers and pumps. Employing solution casting methodology synthesized metallic oxide NPs were loaded in PES to prepare their blended films. Three major functional groups such as sulfone, benzene, and ether are present in PES, and metal–oxygen vibrational groups have been identified in all prepared polymeric composites by FTIR spectroscopy. The electron microscopy (FESEM) reveals that the oxides of zinc appeared in rod-like structures, copper oxide adopted spherical and rhombus shapes, whereas the composite blended sheets appeared smooth.