Simulation of the Effects of Nano-filler Interactions in Polymer Matrix Dielectric Nanocomposites Y. Jin and R. A. Gerhardt* School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA *Corresponding author: [email protected] Abstract: The finite element method was used microstructure, composition, and interfaces of for simulating the dielectric response of polymer the dielectric PMCs [15]. In recent years, the matrix dielectric composites with randomly and finite element method (FEM) has been extended evenly distributed fillers. The dielectric to nanoscale electrical characterization of simulation of the composite materials was materials. However, to the best of our conducted using a time harmonic-electric current knowledge, numerical simulations have not yet solver in the AC/DC module of COMSOL been widely employed in the study of the Multiphysics® 5.2. The calculations were electrical/dielectric properties of composites. In performed for a wide range of filler contents and the literature, the vast majority of impedance and filler permittivities, in order to investigate the dielectric related work is experimental in nature, influence of these important parameters on the and simulation studies are very limited. effective permittivity of the dielectric However, several approaches for impedance composites. The interaction between the fillers simulations have been reported. For example, the was evaluated using an interaction field that roles played by geometric parameters of thin resulted in calculated values that agreed with films and electrodes were studied using FEM previous experimental measurements on a series [16, 17]. The effects of mixed ionic electronic of PVDF/BT composites with and without conductors (MIECs) thin film electrodes in solid MWNT additives. oxide fuel cell were studied using FEM [18]. FEM was also used to simulate the dielectric Keywords: COMSOL Multiphysics®, Polymer response of a composite [19]. composite, Finite element method, Dielectrics In this study, a finite element method (FEM) was used to improve the predictability of the 1. Introduction dielectric properties of polymer matrix composites. Polymer matrix flexible dielectric composites ® with high permittivity and low loss can be used 2. Use of COMSOL Multiphysics as potential materials for gate dielectrics [1], embedded passive components [2], high energy Dielectric polarization and relaxation density electrical energy storage [3, 4], mechanisms in polymer matrix nanocomposites piezoelectric generator [5] and electromechanical can be largely affected by the interfaces between transducers [6]. Poly (vinylidene fluoride) the matrix polymer and the filler and interaction (PVDF) based polymers have been widely between the fillers. Dielectric simulation was investigated, due to their higher permittivity than conducted in polymer matrix nanocomposites, other polymers [7-12]. Some high dielectric with respect to filler volume fraction, constant ceramics, such as barium titanate (BT), permittivity and interactions between the fillers. barium strontium titanate (BST) [9, 11] and In the case of impedance measurements, the calcium copper titanate (CCTO) [13, 14] have potential/current is time varying and usually been used as fillers. It has also been reported that harmonic. Impedance measurement setups the dielectric properties of PVDF matrix involve small length scales (orders of mm) and nanocomposites were improved by optimizing low frequencies (mHz-MHz range). Hence, the the synergistic effects between the ferroelectric electric field wavelength is typically several phase and the conductive added phase [11]. orders of magnitude larger than the dimensions There are many theoretical models used to of the sample that is measured. In such a predict the effective dielectric permittivity of situation, the quasi-static approximation can be dielectric PMCs. However the current existing used [20]. The impedance response of dielectric models do not predict the dielectric properties composites was calculated in the frequency well enough, due to complexities in the 1 Excerpt from the Proceedings of the 2016 COMSOL Conference in Boston Figure 1. (a) Schematic of the configuration for dielectric simulation and (b) calculated electric displacement field map of a composite containing 47.9 vol % barium titanate (BT) nanoparticles (NPs). domain using the AC/DC module of COMSOL When voltage is applied to the port electrode, the Multiphysics® version 5.2. Dielectric properties current that flows through it is extracted. The were calculated from obtained impedance data total current flowing from the port electrode to according to the following equations: the ground electrode is calculated by integrating the current density. The complex impedance can " be calculated from the electric potential = (1) [( ) ( ) ] distribution. Then the other dielectric functions ′ −Z ′ 2 ′′ 2 such as admittance (Y), electric modulus (M), 0 ε 2πε Z + Z ∙ permittivity (ε) can be calculated using the = (2) [( )′ ( ) ] following relationships[21]: ′′ −Z ′ 2 ′′ 2 0 ε 2πε Z + Z ∙ * * where ε0 is the permittivity of free space ZYZ=1/ = ' − jZ " (4) -12 (8.854ⅹ10 F/m), Z and Z are the real and * imaginary impedances′ of the ′′dielectric medium YY='" + jY (5) respectively, A is the area of electrodes and l is the distance between the electrodes. Y* = jω C* = j ω C ε * (6) The objective was to solve the quasi-static g form of Maxwell’s equations for the electric potential and electric displacement in the 3D ε * =1/M* =ε ' − j ε " (7) geometry as in equation (3) MM* ='" + jM (8) ∂ (3) 1 ∇ ⋅σ + εr ε 0 ⋅∇V = 0 where the term j is and Cg is geometric ∂t capacitance. Nano-sized fillers√ −with different properties, and volume fractions were used in the simulation 2 Excerpt from the Proceedings of the 2016 COMSOL Conference in Boston to describe interactions between fillers. Figure calculating overall field locally experienced in 1(a) shows a schematic of the simulation the matrix [15]. configuration and geometry. Figure 1(b) shows Figure 2(a) shows the effects of inter-particle the calculated electric displacement field map for distance of nanoparticles on the electric a PVDF polymer matrix composite containing displacement field. The electric displacement in 47.9 vol % barium titanate (BT) nanoparticles between 2 adjacent nanoparticles increased by (NPs). It can be seen that in order to maintain more than 200 % as the inter-particle distance some physical distance between the fillers, it is decreased from 60 nm to 10 nm when the BT not possible to add any more into the simulation particle size was 78 nm. A schematic in Fig. 2(b) space. shows that the interaction zone becomes stronger as the inter-particle distance decreases, in other 3. Results words, filler concentration increases [15]. The interactions between the ferroelectric 3.1. Dielectric Responses from Interactions of filler and the conductive filler were also Fillers simulated. Figure 3 displays maps for the electric displacement of nanocomposites containing only The interaction between fillers is more BT NPs and BT NPs with MWCNTs. Perfect important at the higher concentration of fillers, alignment of the MWCNTs perpendicular to the because the inter-particle distance decreases as electric field vector and a repeating geometry the concentration is increased. Moreover, the was assumed. The electric displacement field induced electrical field from the distribution of between adjacent BT NPs was increased by up to dipole moments is no longer negligible when 5 times with the presence of effectively separated Figure 2. (a) Effects of inter-particle distance in electric displacement field in between BT NPs (60, 40, 20, and 10 nm from the left) and (b) schematic of interaction zone with respect to inter-particle distance; image redrawn from Ref. [15] 3 Excerpt from the Proceedings of the 2016 COMSOL Conference in Boston Figure 3. Cross-sectional electric displacements field maps of composites containing 22.8 vol % BT and 0 to 3 vol % MWCNT (shown in 2 different scales). fraction of filler, is the initial electric field. MWCNTs. These results were compared with However, it is only applicable to isolated 0 real measured dielectric properties and will be spherical dielectric fillers. A realistic geometry- described further below[11]. based simulation was needed to better account for the complexities in the morphology and the 3.2. Dielectric Response as a Function of arrangement of the fillers as well as varying the Concentration of Fillers compositions of such components. The FEA model, that included the additional Figure 4 shows the experimental and FEA interaction field originally proposed by simulated real permittivity of composites as a Jaysundere and Smith [24], helped improve the function of filler content and calculated values predictability of the effective permittivity of the using some existing numerical models. When the composites. There was good agreement between filler concentration was less than 20 vol %, the experimental and the simulation results existing numerical models were able to predict shown in Figure 4. Note that there was no more the overall dielectric property well; however, at physical space in the matrix beyond 47 % of the filler concentration above 20 vol %, many BT filler to include more fillers, when the numerical models showed lower values than the distance between the fillers was 10 nm. The experimentally measured real permittivity. The geometry based FEA simulations