Tunable optical bandgap in PVA/ Ge10As40Se50 chalcogenide glass (ChG) nanocomposites free standing films

In this paper we report the synthesis and characterization of PVA/Ge10As40Se50 chalcogenide glass nanocomposites free standing films. Ge10As40Se50 nanoparticles are incorporated in PVA matrix via solution processing. From the structural characterization, it is revealed that hydrogen bonding is established between Ge10As40Se50 nanoparticles and PVA chains, which results in the increase of crystallinity of PVA/ Ge10As40Se50 nanocomposites films. Incorporation of Ge10As40Se50 nanoparticles has been observed to decrease the band gap of PVA/ Ge10As40Se50 nanocomposites free standing films which results in the shift of the absorption edge of PVA/ Ge10As40Se50 nanocomposites films with the increase in Ge10As40Se50 concentration. Incorporation of Ge10As40Se50 nanoparticles in PVA matrix may be considered as the simple way to shift the photosensitivity of the PVA/ Ge10As40Se50 nanocomposites films from UV to infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum.