Dielectric properties of poly(4-vinylphenol) with embedded PbO nanoparticles

An organic/inorganic nanocomposite film was synthesized using poly(4-vinylphenol) (PVPh) as an organic insulating polymer and PbO nanoparticles as a high-k inorganic material to serve as an organic insulator with enhanced dielectric properties. PbO nanoparticles were dispersed into propylene glycol monomethyl ether acetate, and a solution of PbO/PVPh nanocomposite was prepared by adding a crosslinker. The PbO nanoparticle content within the PVPh polymer matrix was varied, and the effects of this variation upon the properties of the resulting nanocomposite films were studied, including the properties of surface morphology, surface bonding state and dielectric characteristic. The dielectric constant increased with increasing PbO content, reaching 9.2 at 1 MHz and with dielectric loss below 0.09 for the PbO content of 6 vol%. Furthermore, the leakage current increased to only 1.3 × 10−8 A cm−1 at the highest nanoparticle loadings, compared to the 7.2 × 10−9 of pristine PVPh. The addition of PbO nanoparticles was found to effectively suppress the absorption of moisture on the surface of PbO/PVPh nanocomposite, although it also increased surface roughness, owing to the agglomeration and particulation of PVPh arising from an anchoring effect of the PbO nanoparticles. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.