Bioinspired Dielectric Nanocomposites with High Charge-Discharge Efficiency Enabled by Superspreading-Induced Alignment of Nanosheets

High-performance dielectric nanocomposites are promising candidates for thin-film dielectric capacitors for high-power pulse devices. However, the existing nanocomposites suffer from low charge-discharge efficiency (eta), which results in severe generation and accumulation of Joule heat and subsequently the failure of the devices. In this work, we report nacre-inspired dielectric nanocomposites with outstanding eta, which are enabled by superspreading shear flow-induced highly aligned two-dimensional (2D) nanofillers. Taking boron nitride nanosheets (BNNS) as an example, the highly aligned BNNS in the poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)-based nanocomposites contributes to a highly efficient Coulomb blockade effect for the injected charge carriers. Therefore, the bioinspired nanocomposites with highly aligned BNNS show significantly reduced dielectric loss (tan delta) (63.3%) and improved eta (144.8%), compared to the ones with partially aligned nanosheets fabricated by solution casting. Furthermore, the optimized loading content of BNNS is as low as 3.6 wt %. The resulting nanocomposites exhibit reduced tan delta (0.018) and enhanced E-b (687 kV/mm), eta (71%), and U-e (16.74 J/cm(3)). Our work demonstrates that the realization of high alignment of 2D nanofillers enabled by the superspreading shear flow is a promising way for the development of high-performance dielectric nanocomposites.