The results obtained on poly (vinyl) alcohol (PVA) films doped with a range of Rhodamine B concentrations are reported here. While Fourier transform infrared and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements show a drastic change in chemical bonding in PVA upon doping with a maximum concentration of 2 wt%, X-ray diffraction pattern reveals a slight change in PVA lattice spacing, which may occur due to incorporation of bigger size nanocrystals of Rhodamine B dye. At this highest doping percentage, changes in the degree of crystallinity are also observed. The results are interpreted in terms of variations in vibrational frequencies of different CC, CO, CH and OH bonds in doped samples where the dye breaks the original bonds present in undoped PVA. (C) 2012 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.