Enhanced dielectric and energy storage properties of polyarylene ether nitrile composites incorporated with barium titanate nanowires

Abstract The properties of polymer based composites are seriously affected by the dispersibility of fillers in the polymer matrix. Chemical modification the surface of fillers is generally employed to achieve excellent dispersibility. However, chemical modification of the additives complicates the fabricating process and increases the cost of the prepared composites. Herein, we report enhancing dielectric and energy storage properties of polyarylene ether nitrile (PEN) by incorporating one-dimensional nanostructured barium titanate nanowires (BT-NWs). Four BT-NWs whose mean aspect ratio is 8.6, 11.6, 16.8 and 30.7, respectively, are prepared via a two-step hydrothermal reaction procedure and characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Afterwards, BT-NW/PEN nanocomposites are prepared by solution casting method. Results demonstrate that BT-NWs are dispersed in the PEN substrate without aggregation and excellent mechanical properties of the composites are obtained. Due to the nanowire nature of the BT-NWs, the dielectric constant of the BT-NW/PEN composites increases obviously with the increasing content and mean aspect ratio of BT-NW. The prepared BT-NW/PEN composites demonstrate an energy storage density up to 1.55 J/cm3, intensifying competitiveness of BT-NW/PEN composites for applications as film capacitors.