Local dielectric spectroscopy of polyvinylpyrrolidone–Mo6S2I8 nanowire composite

Abstract A polymeric nanocomposite of polyvinylpyrrolidone and Mo6S2I8 inorganic nanowires was obtained, and its electric properties were characterized on a local scale in the vicinity of the interface between polymer and nanoinclusions. Local dielectric spectroscopy was applied to investigate relaxation dynamics of the polymer close to such interface, at variance of temperature and moisture content, within a thin film supported on a conductive substrate. An intense relaxation process is observed at the polymer/nanoinclusions interface, which could be a secondary relaxation process of the polymer enhanced by the proximity to the conductive nanowires. Furthermore, its relaxation dynamics becomes slower when moisture content is increased which could be explained by the hindering of pyrrolidone ring motions due to hydrogen bonding.