Thermally stable and dielectric nanocomposite based on poly(arylene ether nitrile) and BaTiO3 functionalized by modified mussel-inspired route

Easy and efficient surface functionalization is critical for obtaining high-performance barium titanate (BaTiO3) based dielectric polymer composites. We here demonstrated the easy surface functionalization of barium titanate via modified mussel-inspired method, using dopamine and silane coupling agent KH550 as reactive precursors. As-modified BaTiO3 hybrid presented core-shell structure, which was further compounded with thermally stable poly(arylene ether nitrile)(PEN) via simple solution casting method, thus obtaining dielectric nanocomposite films. As a result, the dielectric constant of PEN was enhanced from 3.5 to 10.7 at 1 KHz by addition of 40wt% BaTiO3 hybrid, due to good dispersion of BaTiO3 nanoparticles and its interfacial interaction with PEN matrix. Furthermore, as-prepared PEN composites exhibited low dielectric loss, which fluctuated in the range of 0.03 to 0.11 at 1 KHz. Besides, the thermal stability of PEN was significantly improved, and the tensile strength was well maintained even the weight ratio of BaTiO3 hybrid reached 40wt%. Therefore, thermally stable and dielectric PEN composite films show promising application in special area where high thermal stability, high strength, and high dielectric constant are needed.