Self-consistent charging of PMMA thin film induced by a penetrating electron beam in electron microscopy

The charging of the polymer thin film irradiated by penetrating electron beam (e-beam) is investigated, in parallel with the numerical simulation and experiment. The simulation is performed by combining scattering, drift, diffusion, trapping and recombination. Results show that, due to the electron emission the net charge near the surface is distribution positively, but negatively inside the film because of low electron mobility. The surface potential is positive near surface and accordingly forces some of secondary electrons to return surface. As irradiation proceeds, currents flowing into and out of the film can tend to equilibrium. In the equilibrium state, with increasing beam energy, the surface potential and the efficient emission current decrease, and the electron beam-induced current and the transmission current tend to zero and the beam current valuable, respectively. E-beams of 10-30 keV cause positive charging on PMMA film of 2 µm, which means the high-energy e-beam can effectively discharge a thin film that has been charged negatively by irradiation with low-energy e-beam. With the increase of the film thickness from 1 to 3 µm, the positive surface potential and the emission current decreases and increases, respectively, and the transmission current tends to zero.

Neutron Reflectometry Tomography for Imaging and Depth Structure Analysis of Thin Films with In-Plane Inhomogeneity

Neutron reflectometry (NR) has been used for the depth structure analysis of materials at the surface and interface with a sub-nanometric resolution. Conventional NR provides averaged information for an area larger than several square centimeters; therefore, it cannot be applied to an interface with an in-plane inhomogeneity. In this study, the NR imaging of the in-plane structure of polymer thin films was achieved. The tomographic reconstruction of the spatially resolved NR profiles obtained by a sheet-shaped neutron beam provided a two-dimensional image of the in-plane interface morphology. The depth distribution of the neutron scattering length density was obtained by analyzing the position-dependent NR profile at a local area less than 0.1 mm². The current NR tomography method enables NR measurements for an interface with an inhomogeneous structure. It also provides information on the three-dimensional distribution of the atomic composition near the surface and interfaces for various materials.

High Breakdown Strength and Energy Density in Multilayer-Structured Ferroelectric Composite

All-organic dielectric composites are drawing increased attention owing to their high operating voltage, low loss, and superior processability. However, polymers usually possess a relatively lower dielectric constant than most the other dielectrics, which seriously suppresses the improvement of their energy density. In this work, multilayer-structured composites with excellent dielectric and energy storage properties are prepared by the stacking method, and the effect of layer numbers on the performance of the composites is studied. High-κ polymers such as poly(vinylidenefluoride) (PVDF) and poly(vinylidenefluoride-ter-trifluoroethylene-ter-chlorotrifluoroethylene) (P(VDF-TrFE-CTFE)) are used to prepare the composites with different layers. It is found that the dielectric constant is up to 14.45 at 1 kHz, which is increased with the volume fraction of the P(VDF-TrFE-CTFE) layer and layer number of the composites. Due to the increased dielectric constant, an ultrahigh discharge energy density of 18.12 J/cm³ is achieved at the electric field of 620 kV/mm. This study exhibits an effective routine to prepare flexible high-performance dielectric materials.

Effects of Interphase Modification and Biaxial Orientation on Dielectric Properties of Poly(ethylene terephthalate)/Poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) Multilayer Films

Recently, poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)-based multilayer films have demonstrated enhanced dielectric properties, combining high energy density and high dielectric breakdown strength from the component polymers. In this work, further enhanced dielectric properties were achieved through interface/interphase modulation and biaxial orientation for the poly(ethylene terephthalate)/poly(methyl methacrylate)/poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) [PET/PMMA/P(VDF-HFP)] three-component multilayer films. Because PMMA is miscible with P(VDF-HFP) and compatible with PET, the interfacial adhesion between PET and P(VDF-HFP) layers should be improved. Biaxial stretching of the as-extruded multilayer films induced formation of highly oriented fibrillar crystals in both P(VDF-HFP) and PET, resulting in improved dielectric properties with respect to the unstretched films. First, the parallel orientation of PVDF crystals reduced the dielectric loss from the αc relaxation in α crystals. Second, biaxial stretching constrained the amorphous phase in P(VDF-HFP) and thus the migrational loss from impurity ions was reduced. Third, biaxial stretching induced a significant amount of rigid amorphous phase in PET, further enhancing the breakdown strength of multilayer films. Due to the synergistic effects of improved interfacial adhesion and biaxial orientation, the PET/PMMA/P(VDF-HFP) 65-layer films with 8 vol % PMMA exhibited optimal dielectric properties with an energy density of 17.4 J/cm(3) at breakdown and the lowest dielectric loss. These three-component multilayer films are promising for future high-energy-density film capacitor applications.

Directed Self-Assembly of Block Copolymers for High Breakdown Strength Polymer Film Capacitors

Emerging needs for fast charge/discharge yet high-power, lightweight, and flexible electronics requires the use of polymer-film-based solid-state capacitors with high energy densities. Fast charge/discharge rates of film capacitors on the order of microseconds are not achievable with slower charging conventional batteries, supercapacitors and related hybrid technologies. However, the current energy densities of polymer film capacitors fall short of rising demand, and could be significantly enhanced by increasing the breakdown strength (EBD) and dielectric permittivity (εr) of the polymer films. Co-extruded two-homopolymer component multilayered films have demonstrated much promise in this regard showing higher EBD over that of component polymers. Multilayered films can also help incorporate functional features besides energy storage, such as enhanced optical, mechanical, thermal and barrier properties. In this work, we report accomplishing multilayer, multicomponent block copolymer dielectric films (BCDF) with soft-shear driven highly oriented self-assembled lamellar diblock copolymers (BCP) as a novel application of this important class of self-assembling materials. Results of a model PS-b-PMMA system show ∼50% enhancement in EBD of self-assembled multilayer lamellar BCP films compared to unordered as-cast films, indicating that the breakdown is highly sensitive to the nanostructure of the BCP. The enhancement in EBD is attributed to the "barrier effect", where the multiple interfaces between the lamellae block components act as barriers to the dielectric breakdown through the film. The increase in EBD corresponds to more than doubling the energy storage capacity using a straightforward directed self-assembly strategy. This approach opens a new nanomaterial paradigm for designing high energy density dielectric materials.

Exploring Strategies for High Dielectric Constant and Low Loss Polymer Dielectrics

Polymer dielectrics having high dielectric constant, high temperature capability, and low loss are attractive for a broad range of applications such as film capacitors, gate dielectrics, artificial muscles, and electrocaloric cooling. Unfortunately, it is generally observed that higher polarization or dielectric constant tends to cause significantly enhanced dielectric loss. It is therefore highly desired that the fundamental physics of all types of polarization and loss mechanisms be thoroughly understood for dielectric polymers. In this Perspective, we intend to explore advantages and disadvantages for different types of polarization. Among a number of approaches, dipolar polarization is promising for high dielectric constant and low loss polymer dielectrics, if the dipolar relaxation peak can be pushed to above the gigahertz range. In particular, dipolar glass, paraelectric, and relaxor ferroelectric polymers are discussed for the dipolar polarization approach.

Flexible nanodielectric materials with high permittivity for power energy storage

Study of flexible nanodielectric materials (FNDMs) with high permittivity is one of the most active academic research areas in advanced functional materials. FNDMs with excellent dielectric properties are demonstrated to show great promise as energy-storage dielectric layers in high-performance capacitors. These materials, in common, consist of nanoscale particles dispersed into a flexible polymer matrix so that both the physical/chemical characteristics of the nanoparticles and the interaction between the nanoparticles and the polymers have crucial effects on the microstructures and final properties. This review first outlines the crucial issues in the nanodielectric field and then focuses on recent remarkable research developments in the fabrication of FNDMs with special constitutents, molecular structures, and microstructures. Possible reasons for several persistent issues are analyzed and the general strategies to realize FNDMs with excellent integral properties are summarized. The review further highlights some exciting examples of these FNDMs for power-energy-storage applications.

Dielectric breakdown in silica-amorphous polymer nanocomposite films: the role of the polymer matrix

The ultimate energy storage performance of an electrostatic capacitor is determined by the dielectric characteristics of the material separating its conductive electrodes. Polymers are commonly employed due to their processability and high breakdown strength; however, demands for higher energy storage have encouraged investigations of ceramic-polymer composites. Maintaining dielectric strength, and thus minimizing flaw size and heterogeneities, has focused development toward nanocomposite (NC) films; but results lack consistency, potentially due to variations in polymer purity, nanoparticle surface treatments, nanoparticle size, and film morphology. To experimentally establish the dominant factors in broad structure-performance relationships, we compare the dielectric properties for four high-purity amorphous polymer films (polymethyl methacrylate, polystyrene, polyimide, and poly-4-vinylpyridine) incorporating uniformly dispersed silica colloids (up to 45% v/v). Factors known to contribute to premature breakdown-field exclusion and agglomeration-have been mitigated in this experiment to focus on what impact the polymer and polymer-nanoparticle interactions have on breakdown. Our findings indicate that adding colloidal silica to higher breakdown strength amorphous polymers (polymethyl methacrylate and polyimide) causes a reduction in dielectric strength as compared to the neat polymer. Alternatively, low breakdown strength amorphous polymers (poly-4-vinylpyridine and especially polystyrene) with comparable silica dispersion show similar or even improved breakdown strength for 7.5-15% v/v silica. At ∼15% v/v or greater silica content, all the polymer NC films exhibit breakdown at similar electric fields, implying that at these loadings failure becomes independent of polymer matrix and is dominated by silica.