Dielectric and mechanical properties of three-component Al2O3/MWCNTs/polyarylene ether nitrile micro-nanocomposite

Abstract

Polyarylene ether nitrile (PEN)/multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs)/alumina (Al2O3) micro-nanocomposite material films were fabricated by uncomplicated and accessible method, overcoming the difficulty of bad interaction between MWCNTs and PEN matrix. Scanning electron microscope revealed that MWCNTs were isolated by Al2O3 and realized better dispersion in matrix. Al2O3 particles hindered conductive MWCNTs from bridging with each other, working as dielectric obstacle. In addition, the micro-nanocomposite has excellent thermal stability and possesses high performance in dielectric and mechanical. The investigation results showed that the dielectric constant increased to 100.8 (50 Hz), which is 20 times higher than that of pure PEN while the dielectric loss was only 0.1 with 7 wt% MWCNTs loading. Meanwhile, the mechanical property indicated that the composite with 7 wt% MWCNTs loading reached their highest values. In other words, the composite with 7 wt% MWCNTs loading possess excellent mechanical property simultaneously as it reached the percolation threshold.