Characterization and dielectric properties of nanocomposite made of lead zirconate nanofibers and polyvinylidene fluoride improved with carbon nanotubes

Abstract

A three-phase PZ/CNT/PVDF nanocomposite comprising lead zirconate (PZ) nanofibers, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and a small volume fraction of carbon nanotubes (CNT) was prepared by the solvent casting technique followed by composite heating at 80°C. The PZ/CNT/PVDF composites were characterized by X-ray diffraction, FT-IR and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The dielectric properties of the composite were studied as a function of the frequency by an LCR meter. The dielectric constant of the PZ/CNT/PVDF nanocomposite was found to be in the range of 18-61 within the measurement frequencies from 100 Hz to 2 MHz. This value is higher than the dielectric constant of the PZ/PVDF nanocomposite. The measured dielectric properties demonstrate that the addition of CNT can improve the dielectric property appearance of the composite. © 2013 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.