Polymer Nanocomposites for High Energy Storage Capacitors

The dielectric properties of a composite system based on polyimide filled with zirconium orthophosphate, ZrO(H₂PO₄)₂·xH₂O (ZrP), layered materials has been studied. The dielectric constant and loss of the polyimide/filler were studied over a broad range of frequencies and volume fractions of the layered filler. The dielectric breakdown strengths of the composite films were determined, and an analysis was carried out using a Weibull distribution. The dielectric constant and loss for the composite increase with increasing loading of the layered compound, and water contributes to both the dielectric constant and loss. The dielectric strength exhibits a maximum at a loading of about 5 wt-%, and the effect of water is to decrease the dielectric strength.