Nano ZrO2 reinforced cellulose incorporated polyethylmethacrylate/polyvinyl alcohol composite films as semiconducting packaging materials

A simple in situ polymerization process is used to synthesize nanocomposite films with incorporation of cellulose and nano ZrO2 (PEMA/PVA-C@ZrO2). The change in structural, morphological, and functional properties are noticed due to combine effect of cellulose and zirconia which is studied by FTIR, XRD, XPS, FESEM, HRTEM, DLS, and AFM. The distribution of particle in the film is determined from dynamic light scattering (DLS). It is found that, dielectric permittivity is increased with percolation at 3 wt% of the nano ZrO2. Further, the dielectric permittivity (epsilon') value is found to be 110 at 1 Hz with a low dielectric loss (Tan delta = 1.74) and an optimum dielectric permittivity is 172 at 1 Hz for 4 wt% loading of nano ZrO2. Mechanical and thermal characteristics of the as-synthesized films are improved due to interfacial adhesion between zirconia and polymeric matrix. The chemical resistance, biodegradable characteristics, and refractive index of the nanocomposite films are also measured. It is noticed that, the barrier properties are increased by 20-folds due to the synergistic combination of nano ZrO2 and cellulose with polymeric matrix. The enhancement in barrier properties with improved dielectric permittivity can enable the as-synthesized films for semiconducting packaging applications.