Dielectric relaxation and thermal studies on dispersed phase polymer nanocomposite films

Abstract

Dispersed phase polymer nanocomposite films (PNC) based on PMMA–LiClO4+ n-YSZ, has been prepared. The effect of filler concentration on dielectric constant, tanδ and ac conductivity has been observed. For each PNC films the activation energy for relaxation (Eτ) is almost same as the activation energy for ion conduction (Ea). The dc conductivity, the hopping frequency of charge carriers have been obtained at different temperature from the analysis of the ac conductivity data. For all the PNC films, the concentration of charge carriers has been calculated at different temperature using Almond–West formalism. The estimated activation energies for the dc conductivity and the hopping frequency are different, which indicates that the both charge carrier mobility and concentration contribute significantly to the ionic conductivity of polymeric electrolyte. Contribution of charge carrier mobility to the total conductivity has also been confirmed from the differential scanning calorimetry analysis. Improvement in thermal stability has been noticed with filler addition.