Performance of nano-K-doped zirconate on modified opto-electrical and electrochemical properties of gelatin biopolymer nanocomposites

Nanocomposite (NC) films based on biopolymer gelatin incorporated with varying amounts of K-doped zirconate (KZrO) nanoparticles (NPs) have been fabricated by solution intercalation technique. NPs obtained by combustion method and their TEM result revealed the average size of NPs is 18 nm ± 2. The effects of NPs content on structural and morphological behaviors of gelatin nanocomposite (NCs) have been established by XRD, FTIR and SEM methods. AC conductivity (σ) was performed using LCR meter. The σ increases with an increase in frequency and dosage of NPs where the maximum σ obtained is 5.73 × 10 S/cm for gelatin/4 wt% KZrO at 25 °C. Cyclic voltammetry data displayed that gelatin–KZrO NCs have electrochemical stability in the range – 0.5 to + 1 V. Charge–discharge data exhibited a higher specific capacitance of 26.5 F/g with higher discharge time for NC doped with 4 wt% KZrO as compared to pure gelatin. The optical behaviors of NCs were deduced by UV–visible (UV) spectroscopy, where the data showed a higher absorption intensity with increasing NPs, while band gap energy was reduced from 4.18 eV for pure gelatin to 2.91 eV for gelatin/4 wt% KZrO. Swelling and contact angle data showed gelatin NC films tend to be less wettability as compared to pure gelatin.