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In This Article

  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Introduction
  • Protocol
  • Representative Results
  • Discussion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Materials
  • References
  • Reprints and Permissions

Summary

Here, we demonstrate a simple and low-cost solution-casting process to improve the compatibility between the filler and the matrix of polymer-based nanocomposites using surface modified BaTiO3 fillers, which can effectively enhance the energy density of the composites.

Abstract

In this work, an easy, low-cost, and widely applicable method was developed to improve the compatibility between the ceramic fillers and the polymer matrix by adding 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (KH550) as a coupling agent during the fabrication process of BaTiO3-P(VDF-CTFE) nanocomposites through solution casting. Results show that the use of KH550 can modify the surface of ceramic nanofillers; therefore, good wettability on the ceramic-polymer interface was achieved, and the enhanced energy storage performances were obtained by a suitable amount of the coupling agent. This method can be used to prepare flexible composites, which is highly desirable for the production of high-performance film capacitors. If an excessive amount of coupling agent is used in the process, the non-attached coupling agent can participate in complex reactions, which leads to a decrease in dielectric constant and an increase in dielectric loss.

Introduction

The dielectrics applied in electrical energy storage devices are mainly characterized using two important parameters: the dielectric constant (εr) and the breakdown strength (Eb)1,2,3. In general, organic materials such as polypropylene (PP) exhibit a high Eb (~102 MV/m) and a low εr (mostly <5)4,5,6 while inorganic materials, especially ferroelectrics such as BaTiO3, e....

Protocol

1. Surface modification of BT fillers

  1. Prepare 20 mL of KH550 solution (1 wt% KH550 in 95 wt% ethanol-water solvent) and ultrasonicate for 15 min.
  2. Weigh BT nanoparticles (i.e., the filler) and KH550, respectively, so that fillers can be coated with 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 wt% of the coupling agent. Treat 1 g of BT nanoparticles in 1.057, 2.114, 3.171, 4.228, and 5.285 mL of KH550 solution by 30 min ultrasonication.
  3. Evaporate the water-ethanol solvent from the mixture at 80 °C for 5 h and then at.......

Representative Results

The free-standing nanocomposite films with different contents of fillers were successfully fabricated as described in the protocol, and were labeled as xBT-VC91, where x is the volume percentage of BT in the composites. The effect of KH550 (coupling agent) on the morphology and microstructure of these BT-VC91 films was studied by SEM and shown in Figure 1. The SEM images of 30BT-VC91 nanocomposites with 1 and 5 wt% coupling agent are shown in Figure 1a and

Discussion

As discussed above, the method developed by this work could successfully improve the energy-storage performance of ceramic-polymer nanocomposites. To optimize the effect of such method, it is critical to control the amount of coupling agent used in ceramic-surface modification. For ceramic nanoparticles with a diameter of ~200 nm, it was experimentally determined that 2 wt% of KH550 could lead to a maximal energy density. For other composite systems, this conclusion may be used approximately when the fillers with the dia.......

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Taiyuan University of Science and Technology Scientific Research Initial Funding (20182028), the doctoral starting foundation of Shanxi Province (20192006), the Natural Science Foundation of Shanxi Province (201703D111003), the Science and Technology Major Project of Shanxi Province (MC2016-01), and Project U610256 supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China.

....

Materials

NameCompanyCatalog NumberComments
3-Aminopropyltriethoxysilane (KH550)Sigma-Aldrich440140Liquid, Assay: 99%
95 wt.% ethanol-waterSigma-Aldrich459836Liquid, Assay: 99.5%
BaTiO3 nanoparticlesUS Research NanomaterialsUS3830In a diameter of about 200 nm
Ferroelectric testerRadiantPrecision-LC100
Glass substratesCitoglas1639775 x 25 mm
Gold coaterPelcoSC-6
High voltage supplierTrek610D10 kV
Impedance analyzerKeysight4294A
N, N dimethylformamideFisher ScientificGEN002007Liquid
P(VDF-CTFE) 91/9 mol.% copolymer
Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM)JEOLJSM-7000F
Vacuum ovenHeefei Kejing Materials Technology Co, LtdDZF-6020

References

  1. Lines, M. E., Glass, A. M. . Principles and applications of ferroelectrics and related materials. , (2001).
  2. Nalwa, H. S. . Handbook of low and high dielectric permittivity materials and their applications, phenomena, properties and applications. , (1999).
  3. Kao, K. C.

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