Collegial effects of CeO₂/SiC nano-fillers on dielectric, thermal, impedance and conductivity behavior of PVDF-HFP matrix for flexible energy storage applications

In the current study, novel Poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene)/Cerium oxide/Silica carbide (PVDF-HFP/CeO2/SiC) flexible polymer nanocomposites were synthesized by solution casting technique. Structural changes involved in the composite formation between nano-fillers and host polymers were analyzed by X-Ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) techniques. SEM results confirm the homogeneous dispersion of nano-fillers (CeO2 & SiC) within the host polymer. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was used to identify the thermal stability of the polymer nanocomposite with about 56% of residual residue for increased nano-fillers loading. Tauc plots confirm that the energy band gap of pristine host polymer decreased with the incorporation of nano-fillers. The dielectrics, impedance, and AC conductivity studies were investigated in temperature ranging from 50 degrees C to 150 degrees C and the frequency range between 50 Hz and 10 MHz measured by an impedance analyzer. As a function of nano-filler loading, the nanocomposites show a significant increase in the dielectric constant (epsilon ' = 272.92, 50 Hz, 50 degrees C) with low dielectric loss (tan(delta) = 1.98, 50 Hz, 150 degrees C) values. Impedance and the AC conductivity results suggested that addition of nano-filler decreases the impedance and improves the AC conductivity value from 1.67 x 10(-4) S/m for pristine PVDF-HFP to 1.44x10(-3)S/m for 15% SiC. These results justify the material being efficiently applicable for flexible energy storage applications.