Electro-mechanical properties of free standing micro- and nano-scale polymer-ceramic composites for energy density capacitors

Abstract The integration of inorganic fillers in polymer matrix is useful for superior mechanical strength and functional properties of polymer-ceramic composites. We report the fabrication and characterization of polyvinylidene fluoride-CoFe 2 O 4 (PVDF-CFO) (wt% 80:20, respectively) and PVDF-Pb(Zr 0.52 Ti 0.48 )O 3 –CoFe 2 O 4 (PVDF-PZT-CFO) (wt% 80:10:10, respectively) free standing 50 μm thick ferroelectric-polymer-ceramic composites films. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns and Raman spectra revealed the presence of major semi-crystalline β-PVDF along with α-phase which is responsible for ferroelectric nature in both the composite systems. Ferroelectric, dielectric and mechanical strength measurements were performed in order to evaluate the effects of CFO and PZT inorganic fillers in PVDF matrix. The inclusion of CFO and PZT micro-/nano-particles in PVDF polymer matrix improved the polarization behavior, dielectric properties and mechanical strength. The energy density was calculated by polarization-electric field hysteresis loop and found in the range of 6–8 J/cm 3 may be useful for microelectronics.