Enhanced Dielectric Properties of Polyarylene Ether Nitriles Filled with Core–Shell Structured PbZrO₃ Around BaTiO₃ Nanoparticles

Abstract

Core–shell structured PbZrO₃@BaTiO₃ nanoparticles (PZ@BT) were prepared through a modified hydrothermal method and characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and x-ray diffraction (XRD). The SEM, TEM images and TEM energy dispersive spectrometer mapping demonstrate that the PZ shell successfully forms on the BT core and the thickness of the PZ shell is approximate at 20 nm. The XRD pattern demonstrates the characteristic diffraction of the PZ shell, and the XPS result also indicates the presence of lead and zirconium, which confirm the fabrication of PZ@BT. Afterwards, the PZ@BT and polyarylene ether nitrile nanocomposites (PZ@BT/PENs) were prepared, and the mechanical, thermal, and their dielectric properties were systematically investigated. With the presence of PZ@BT, the glass transition temperature of the composites is enhanced while their thermal resistance is reduced. The composites show excellent tensile strength even 50 wt.% of PZ@BT is used. After the addition of PZ@BT, the permittivity of the composites is effectively improved. Dielectric loss of the composites shows a slight decrease when the content of PZ@BT increases. Furthermore, the composite with 5 wt.% of PZ@BT shows a breakdown strength of 215 kV/mm.