There is growing interest in recent times to develop biodegradable films with improved properties. They are potential substitutes for existing petroleum-based synthetic polymers. Eco-friendly biofilms based on Poly (vinyl alcohol)/Nano coconut shell filler (PVA/NCSF) were primed by a solution casting method. The biofilms were characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis, Tensile test, FESEM, Transparency Water absorption, biodegradability test, and tensile testing. FTIR and XRD results revealed the structural characterization and crystallinity index of prepared PVA/NCSP biofilms. FTIR suggested that strong hydrogen bonding due to interfacial exchanges of PVA/NCSF. Thermogravimetric analyses revealed thermal degradation temperatures of biofilms that were observed between 259.79°C and 350°C. The tensile strength and elastic modulus were enhanced by 25.5% and 97.25%, respectively, when NCSF was added at 25 wt% level. It is intriguing that % of elongation linearly decreased with the incorporation of filler. The FESEM results evident that good compatibility between PVA and NCSF. The water absorption of PVA/NCSF biofilms slightly increases with increase in the NCSF content. Soil burial test results evident that 34% weight loss of biofilms (25 wt% of NCSF) due to NCSF loading in PVA Matrix. Taken together, the present study confirmed that PVA/NCSF biofilms can be a potential for packaging applications.

Recently, polymer nanocomposites can offer to enhance the tremendous development of reinforcements and broaden their use in feasible applications. The polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) polymer based bio-nanocomposite film reinforced with different amount of Eleusine Coracana (EC) particles from 5 to 25 wt% were prepared by the solution cast. The bio-nanocomposite (PVA/EC) film was characterized by the X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR). Thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA) is used to estimate the thermal degradation of polymer bio-nanocomposites. From the Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) analysis, the surface roughness of the (PVA/EC) film was analyzed.

In this work, the quasi-solid-state polymer electrolyte containing poly(vinyl alcohol)-polypyrrole as a polymer host, potassium iodide (KI), iodine (I₂), and different plasticizers (EC, PC, GBL, and DBP) was successfully prepared via the solution casting technique. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was used to analyze the interaction between the polymer and the plasticizer. X-ray diffraction confirmed the reduction of crystallinity in the polymer electrolyte by plasticizer doping. The ethylene carbonate-based polymer electrolyte showed maximum electrical conductivity of 0.496 S cm⁻¹. The lowest activation energy of 0.863 kJ mol⁻¹ was obtained for the EC-doped polymer electrolyte. The lowest charge transfer resistance R_ct1 was due to a faster charge transfer at the counter electrode/electrolyte interface. The polymer electrolyte containing the EC plasticizer exhibited an average roughness of 23.918 nm. A photo-conversion efficiency of 4.19% was recorded in the DSSC with the EC-doped polymer electrolyte under the illumination of 100 mWcm⁻².

A poly (vinyl alcohol) PVA/Eriochrome Black-T (EBT) dye, and PVA/Eosin-Y (EY) dye composite film was prepared using a solution casting process. The dye-doped composite polymer films were characterized by UV–vis spectroscopy. An optical band gap (E_g) of pure PVA reduced from 4.22 eV to 2.80 eV for PVA/EBT film and 2.14 eV for PVA/EY film respectively. This result indicates the occurrence of inter-molecular hydrogen bonding between the –OH functional group in PVA chains and sulfonate (EBT) and carboxyl group (EY) in dye molecules, respectively. Moreover, the experimental result of PVA/EBT and PVA/EY composite film showed the excellent properties of a large scale cut-off filter in the ultraviolet and visible range region.