High performance of polyimide/CaCu3Ti4O12@Ag hybrid films with enhanced dielectric permittivity and low dielectric loss

Abstract

This work reports the excellent dielectric properties of polyimide (PI) embedded with CaCu₃Ti₄O₁₂(CCTO)/Ag nanoparticles (CCTO@Ag). By functionalizing the surface of CCTO nanoparticles with Ag coating, the dielectric permittivity of PI/CCTO@Ag composites is significantly increased to 103 (100 Hz) at 3 vol% filler loading. The enhancement of dielectric permittivity is attributed to the increment of conductivity of the interlayer between CCTO and PI by Ag, which enhances the space charge polarization and Maxwell–Wagner–Sillars (MWS) effect. The experimental results fit well with percolation theory. Moreover, the low loss (0.018 at 100 Hz) achieved is attributed to the blockage of charge transfer by insulating polyimide chains. It is shown that the electrical field distortion is significantly improved by decorating the surface of CCTO nanoparticles with Ag using Comsol Multiphysics. This plays an important role in the enhancement of the dielectric properties.