This work aims to tailor the optical and radiation protection parameters of PVA-PVP blend using SiC-Cu₂O nanocomposite (NC) for innovative applications. SiC-Cu₂O NC doped PVA-PVP films were equipped by a solution casting process. The surface morphology, structural changes, chemical bonding, and optical performance were fully characterized by SEM, optical microscopy, FT-IR, EDX, and UV–visible spectrophotometry techniques. The SEM and FTIR investigations confirm the effective incorporation and integration between the SiC-Cu₂O NCs and the PVA-PVP matrix. The UV–visible examination reveals that the direct (indirect) bandgap (E_g) of the PVA-PVP matrix decreases due to SiC-Cu₂O NCs doping. In addition, the doping of SiC-Cu₂O NCs significantly enhances the refractive index (n) and dielectric parameters of the PVA-PVP matrix. The radiation shielding properties were determined by the Phy-X/PSD program. The shielding investigations reveal that to SiC-Cu₂O NCs enhance significantly all the radiation protection parameters, including the linear and mass attenuation coefficients (LAC, MAC), mean free path (MFP), half- and tenth-value layers (HVL, TVL), and effective atomic number (Z_eff). Comprehensively, the findings in this paper indicate that SiC-Cu₂O doped PVA-PVP films are promising candidates in optical and radiation protection technologies.

Title

Inorganic Chemistry Communications

Publisher

Elsevier

Publisher Country

United States of America

Indexing

Thomson Reuters

Impact Factor

5.4

Publication Type

Both (Printed and Online)

Volume

189

Year

2026

Pages

116735