Synergistic effect of nano-BaTiO3 and montmorillonite nanoclay on the AC conductivity and dielectric properties of poly(vinylidenefluoride) nanocomposite films

Abstract

Poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF), Barium Titanate (BaTiO3) and Montmorillonite (MMT) nanoclay based polymer nanocomposite (PNCs) were synthesized using a solution casting technique by encapsulating various loadings of BaTiO3 and MMT in PVDF matrix. The completely dispersed and highly flexible PVDF/BaTiO3/MMT nanocomposite films which were subjected to different characterization studies. The structural and morphological analysis of the synthesized nanocomposite films has been done using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD). BaTiO3 and MMT reinforcement in the polymer matrix results in structural modifications of the PNCs. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) were employed to assess the thermal characteristics of PVDF/BaTiO3/MMT PNCs. The dielectric properties such as dielectric constant (ϵ), dielectric loss (tan δ), and AC conductivity (σac) of nanocomposite films were also examined as functions of frequency (50 Hz to 10 MHz) and temperature (30 °C to 150 °C). The highest ϵ was obtained at low frequency at higher temperatures for all the nanocomposite films. These findings imply that the PVDF/BaTiO3/MMT nanocomposites can be an effective material for energy storage applications.