Silicone elastomer dielectric composites by introducing novel O-MMT@TiO2 nanoparticles for energy harvesting application

Abstract

Dielectric elastomers have attracted attention in emerging advanced electromechanical applications. However, how to simultaneously improve the dielectric constant and the breakdown strength of dielectric composite needs to be solved. In this paper, we propose a new strategy to anchor TiO2 nanoparticles onto organically modified montmorillonite (O-MMT) nanoplatelets through dehydration reaction to synthesize a novel filler O-MMT@TiO2. Then, the O-MMT@TiO2 is incorporated into methyl vinyl silicone rubber (MVSR) matrix to obtain O-MMT@TiO2/MVSR dielectric composites. Comparing with the composites by direct mixing of TiO2 and O-MMT in MVSR (O-MMT/TiO2/MVSR), O-MMT@TiO2/MVSR composites significantly increase mechanical and dielectric and energy storage properties. 30 wt% O-MMT@TiO2/MVSR composite achieves the highest energy storage density of 118.65 kJ/m3, which is 142.9 % higher than that of 15 wt%O-MMT/15 wt%TiO2/MVSR (48.84 kJ/m3). This study offers an effective method for the preparation of high-performance dielectric elastomer materials, which can be exploited for the energy harvesting application.