Flexible dielectric polymer composites have been of great interest as embedded capacitor materials in the electronic industry. However, a polymer composite has a low relative dielectric permittivity (ε' < 100), while its dielectric loss tangent is generally large (tanδ > 0.1). In this study, we fabricate a novel, high-permittivity polymer nanocomposite system with a low tanδ. The nanocomposite system comprises poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) co-filled with Au nanoparticles and semiconducting TiO2 nanorods (TNRs) that contain Ti3+ ions. To homogeneously disperse the conductive Au phase, the TNR surface was decorated with Au-NPs ~10-20 nm in size (Au-TNRs) using a modified Turkevich method. The polar β-PVDF phase was enhanced by the incorporation of the Au nanoparticles, partially contributing to the enhanced ε' value. The introduction of the Au-TNRs in the PVDF matrix provided three-phase Au-TNR/PVDF nanocomposites with excellent dielectric properties (i.e., high ε' ≈ 157 and low tanδ ≈ 0.05 at 1.8 vol% of Au and 47.4 vol% of TNRs). The ε' of the three-phase Au-TNR/PVDF composite is ~2.4-times higher than that of the two-phase TNR/PVDF composite, clearly highlighting the primary contribution of the Au nanoparticles at similar filler loadings. The volume fraction dependence of ε' is in close agreement with the effective medium percolation theory model. The significant enhancement in ε' was primarily caused by interfacial polarization at the PVDF-conducting Au nanoparticle and PVDF-semiconducting TNR interfaces, as well as by the induced β-PVDF phase. A low tanδ was achieved due to the inhibited conducting pathway formed by direct Au nanoparticle contact.
Keywords: gold nanoparticle; heat treatment; hybrid nanoparticle; modified Turkevich method; poly(vinylidene fluoride); titanium dioxide nanorod.