Synthesis and comprehensive study of polyvinylidene fluoride–nickel oxide–barium titanate (PVDF–NiO–BaTiO3) hybrid nanocomposite films for enhancement of the electroactive beta phase

• Published in: Journal of materials science. Materials in electronics Vol. 31; no. 21; pp. 18464 - 18476
• Main Authors: Kaur, Gurpreet, Rana, Dinesh Singh
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.11.2020; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Barium titanates; Beta phase; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Charge transport; Chemistry and Materials Science; Crystal structure; Crystallinity; Degree of crystallinity; Electric potential; Electrical conduction; Electrical resistivity; Energy harvesting; Field emission microscopy; Field emission spectroscopy; Fillers; Fluorides; Fourier transforms; Infrared spectroscopy; Materials Science; Measurement techniques; Miniaturization; Morphology; Nanocomposites; Nickel oxides; Optical and Electronic Materials; Photomicrographs; Polyvinylidene fluorides; Sol-gel processes; Spectrum analysis; Voltage; X-ray diffraction
• ISSN: 0957-4522; 1573-482X
• DOI: 10.1007/s10854-020-04390-8

This study includes the successful fabrication of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) based hybrid nanocomposite films loaded with nickel oxide (NiO) and barium titanate (BaTiO 3 ) fillers via simple sol–gel casting techniques to optimize the crystallinity and β -phase formation for various sensor applications. A systematic study has been performed to assess the effect of fillers (NiO and BaTiO 3 ) on the crystal structure, morphology and electrical conduction properties of PVDF–NiO–BaTiO 3 hybrid nanocomposite films using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) using energy dispersive spectroscopy and current–voltage ( I – V ) measurement techniques. XRD and FTIR results indicate that the incorporation of nanostructured fillers NiO and BaTiO 3 leads to the formation of long stabilized planar zigzag and all-trans conformation (TTTT) inducing the growth of electroactive β -phase and crystallinity. XRD results show that the degree of crystallinity reaches a maximum value of 85% for incorporation of 2.5 wt% of NiO and 27.5 wt% of BaTiO 3 . FTIR results show 85% of electroactive β -phase growth achieved by incorporating 7.5 wt% of NiO and 22.5 wt% of BaTiO 3 . FESEM micrographs of hybrid films show that both NiO and BaTiO 3 particles are well dispersed within the PVDF pattern with the porous surface resulting in enhanced electrical conductivity. Current–voltage ( I – V ) measurement shows the charge transport process in PVDF composites loaded with NiO and BaTiO 3 fillers is mainly governed by Richardson Schottky emission. The significant increase in the electrical conductivity of PVDF–NiO–BaTiO 3 hybrid nanocomposite opens a new window for possible use in miniaturization of electronics and energy harvesting devices.