Enhancement of electroactive β phase crystallization and dielectric constant of PVDF by incorporating GeO2 and SiO2 nanoparticles

• Published in: Physical chemistry chemical physics : PCCP Vol. 17; no. 35; pp. 22784 - 22798
• Main Authors: Kar, Epsita, Bose, Navonil, Das, Sukhen, Mukherjee, Nillohit, Mukherjee, Sampad
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 21.09.2015
• ISSN: 1463-9076; 1463-9084
• DOI: 10.1039/c5cp03975d

Poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) nanocomposites are recently gaining importance due to their unique dielectric and electroactive responses. In this study, GeO 2 nanoparticles/PVDF and SiO 2 nanoparticles/PVDF nanocomposite films were prepared by a simple solution casting technique. The surface morphology and structural properties of the as-prepared films were studied by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and FT-IR spectroscopy techniques. The studies reveal that the incorporation of GeO 2 or SiO 2 nanoparticles leads to an enhancement in the electroactive β phase fraction of PVDF due to the strong interactions between the negatively charged nanoparticle surface and polymer. Analysis of the thermal properties of the as-prepared samples also supports the increment of the β phase fraction in PVDF. Variation of dielectric constant, dielectric loss, and ac conductivity with frequency and loading fraction of the nanoparticles were also studied for all the as-prepared films. Dielectric constant of the nanocomposite films increases with increasing nanofiller concentration in PVDF. 15 mass% SiO 2 -loaded PVDF film shows the highest dielectric constant, which can be attributed to the smaller size of SiO 2 nanoparticles and the homogeneous and discrete dispersion of SiO 2 nanoparticles in PVDF matrix. Poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) nanocomposites are recently gaining importance due to their unique dielectric and electroactive responses.