Tailored Dielectric Properties based on Microstructure Change in BaTiO3-Carbon Nanotube/Polyvinylidene Fluoride Three-Phase Nanocomposites

The carbon nanotube (CNT) has been chosen as an excellent candidate for acquiring high dielectric constant polymer matrix composites according to percolation theory. However, its nanometer-scale dimension makes it naturally form bundles, which makes it difficult to use. Compared with chemical modification of multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWNT), the incorporation of the third component (nanosized BaTiO3 (NBT)) particles into MWNT/polymer composites would realize the uniform dispersion of MWNT without sacrificing the inherent properties of MWNT. We reported a three-phase (NBT-MWNT)/polyvinylidene fluoride nanocomposite with a significantly enhanced dielectric constant (643 at 10(3) Hz) and a gradually decreased loss, which was extremely hard to be realized at the same time for composites only filled by conductive MWNT filler. Adjustable dielectric properties were discovered by employing the three-phase system due to the nanocomposites microstructure change Furthermore, impedance analysis and simulated circuit confirmed the existence of microcapacitors comprised of MWNT- and NBT-rich composites