Nano-sized BaTiO3 incorporated P(VDF-HFP)/PMMA blend matrix based polymer nanocomposites for cutting edge opto- and micro-electronics

Utilizations of polymer nanocomposites as flexible nanodielectrics for energy storage as well as harvesters, dielectric substrates and electrical insulators in the fabrication of a variety of microelectronic devices, and also as innovative optical materials for optoelectronic and sensing devices, have realized them as multiple functional advanced materials. To contribute in the fastest growing field of such advanced materials, herein, an equal weight composition (50/50 wt%) polymer blend host matrix of poly(vinylidene fluoride-hexafluoropropylene) (P(VDF-HFP)) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) with 0, 2, 5, and 10 wt% concentrations of barium titanate (BaTiO3) nanomaterial based P(VDF-HFP)/PMMA/BaTiO3 polymer nanocomposite (PNC) films, were prepared by solution casting method. The prepared PNC films were characterized for their structural, thermal, optical, broadband dielectric and electrical properties by employing advanced techniques. These PNC films have some polar and non-polar crystal phases of P(VDF-HFP) and their melting temperature and degree of crystallinity changes anomalously with increasing the concentration of homogeneously dispersed BaTiO3 nanoparticles which predominantly form the physical interactions with polymer chains. Additionally, these PNCs exhibited BaTiO3 nanofiller concentration controllable ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) radiations absorbance and also the energy bandgaps, which credited to their wide bandgap semiconductive nature and explains their potential in optoelectronic and sensor device technologies. The dielectric and electrical dispersion spectra over 20 Hz to 1 GHz range of these PNCs at 27 °C, explained the contribution of various polarization processes in the dielectric permittivity enhancement due to the presence of BaTiO3 nanoparticles in the host polymer matrix which also affected the structural dynamics of the polymers. The observed variations in dielectric permittivity and electrical conductivity in different frequency regions elucidate the importance of these P(VDF-HFP)/PMMA/BaTiO3 films as innovative nanodielectrics for advances in cutting edge microelectronic devices.