Application of a Coupling Agent to Improve the Dielectric Properties of Polymer-Based Nanocomposites

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 (ε_r) and the breakdown strength (E_b)^1,2,3. In general, organic materials such as polypropylene (PP) exhibit a high E_b (~10² MV/m) and a low ε_r (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 120 °C for 12 h in a vacuum oven.
4. Use the dry BT nanoparticles as the surface modified fillers to prepare BT-VC91 nanocomposites.
....

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.......

Materials

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
3-Aminopropyltriethoxysilane (KH550)	Sigma-Aldrich	440140	Liquid, Assay: 99%
95 wt.% ethanol-water	Sigma-Aldrich	459836	Liquid, Assay: 99.5%
BaTiO3 nanoparticles	US Research Nanomaterials	US3830	In a diameter of about 200 nm
Ferroelectric tester	Radiant	Precision-LC100
Glass substrates	Citoglas	16397	75 x 25 mm
Gold coater	Pelco	SC-6
High voltage supplier	Trek	610D	10 kV
Impedance analyzer	Keysight	4294A
N, N dimethylformamide	Fisher Scientific	GEN002007	Liquid
P(VDF-CTFE) 91/9 mol.% copolymer
Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM)	JEOL	JSM-7000F
Vacuum oven	Heefei Kejing Materials Technology Co, Ltd	DZF-6020