Enhanced dielectric properties of polymer matrix composites with BaTiO3 and MWCNT hybrid fillers using simple phase separation

Abstract

Abstract Poly (vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) matrix hybrid nanocomposites, featuring ferroelectric barium titanate (BT) nanoparticles and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) embedded in the polymer, were fabricated by a miscible-immiscible coagulation method followed by hot pressing. SEM images showed good distribution of the ceramic nanoparticles with very little particle agglomeration. The conductive MWCNT increased the charge storage ability of the matrix polymer by serving as a polarized charge transport phase for the ferroelectric nanoparticles, while the small MWNT amounts used prevented the formation of conductive networks. The simple processing method utilized resulted in composites with high real permittivity and low dielectric loss over a wide range of frequency (10–1 MHz). The dielectric properties of the polymer matrix nanocomposites with hybrid fillers (BT with and without MWNT) were improved by optimizing the synergistic effects between the charge storage behavior of the ferroelectric phase and the charge transport behavior of the conductive phase. The best combination of real permittivity and dielectric loss properties (71.7 and 0.045 respectively) were obtained for the nanocomposites containing 37.1 vol% of BaTiO3 and 3 vol% of MWCNT. In addition to achieving reliable dielectric properties, the nanocomposites also displayed flexibility making these composites potentially useful for many flexible electronic devices and electrostatic energy storage devices.