A highly scalable dielectric metamaterial with superior capacitor performance over a broad temperature

Tian Zhang; Xin Chen; Yash Thakur; Biao Lu; Qiyan Zhang; J Runt; Q M Zhang

doi:10.1126/sciadv.aax6622

A highly scalable dielectric metamaterial with superior capacitor performance over a broad temperature

Sci Adv. 2020 Jan 24;6(4):eaax6622. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aax6622. eCollection 2020 Jan.

Authors

Tian Zhang¹, Xin Chen², Yash Thakur¹, Biao Lu¹, Qiyan Zhang¹, J Runt², Q M Zhang^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Materials Research Institute, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA.
² Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA.

Abstract

Although many polymers exhibit excellent dielectric performance including high energy density with high efficiency at room temperature, their electric and dielectric performance deteriorates at high temperatures (~150°C). Here, we show that nanofillers at very low volume content in a high-temperature (high-glass transition temperature) semicrystalline dipolar polymer, poly(arylene ether urea), can generate local structural changes, leading to a marked increase in both dielectric constant and breakdown field, and substantially reduce conduction losses at high electric fields and over a broad temperature range. Consequently, the polymer with a low nanofiller loading (0.2 volume %) generates a high discharged energy density of ca. 5 J/cm³ with high efficiency at 150°C. The experimental data reveal microstructure changes in the nanocomposites, which, at 0.2 volume % nanofiller loading, reduce constraints on dipole motions locally in the glassy state of the polymer, reduce the mean free path for the mobile charges, and enhance the deep trap level.

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