Preparation of a hybrid core–shell structured BaTiO 3 @PEDOT nanocomposite and its applications in dielectric and electrode materials

Abstract A new hybrid core–shell structured nanocomposite, BaTiO3 with surface grafted poly(sodium styrenesulfonate) (PSS) as core and conductive poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) as shell is prepared. TEM reveals the formation of core–shell structured BaTiO3@PEDOT nanoparticles, and the average size is about 220–260 nm with shell thickness of 20–60 nm. The dielectric and the electrochemical properties are studied with the composites as dielectric and electrode materials respectively. The as-prepared BaTiO3@PEDOT composite can serve as filler used in preparing polymer-based nanocomposite with high dielectric constant and low dielectric loss. The dielectric constant of the BaTiO3@PEDOT/PVDF composite is as high as 22 while the dielectric loss is only 0.12 at a frequency of 100 kHz with loading of 20 wt%. From cyclic voltammetry (CV) curves, the maximum specific capacitance of BaTiO3@PEDOT electrode can reach 63.7 F g−1 at 20 mV s−1, which is almost 60 times greater than that of pure BaTiO3 (Cm = 1.95 F g−1).