Polymer matrix nanocomposites are widely studied because of the versatility of their physical and mechanical properties. When these properties are present simultaneously, responding at relative stimuli, multifunctional performance is achieved. In this study, hybrid nanocomposites of SrFe12O19 and BaTiO3 ceramic particles dispersed in an epoxy resin matrix were fabricated and characterized. The content of SrFe12O19 was varying, while the amount of BaTiO3 was kept constant. The successful fabrication of the nanocomposites and the fine dispersion of the ceramic particles was verified via the morphological and structural characterization carried out with X-ray Diffraction patterns and Scanning Electron Microscopy images. Dielectric response and related relaxation phenomena were studied by means of Broadband Dielectric Spectroscopy. Dielectric permittivity augments with filler content, while the recorded relaxations, with descending relaxation time, are: (i) interfacial polarization, (ii) glass-to-rubber transition, (iii) intermediate dipolar effect, and (iv) re-orientation of polar-side groups of the main polymer chain. SrFe12O19 nanoparticles induce magnetic properties to the nanocomposites, which alter with the magnetic filler content. Static and dynamic mechanical response improves with filler content. Thermogravimetric analysis shown that ceramic particles are beneficial to the nanocomposites’ thermal stability. Glass transition temperature, determined via Differential Scanning Calorimetry, was found to slightly vary with filler content, in accordance with the results from dynamic mechanical and dielectric analysis, indicating the effect of interactions occurring between the constituents. Examined systems are suitable for energy storing/retrieving.

The growing demand for renewable energy sources has prompted the development of dielectric materials with the ability to store and efficiently recover electrical energy. Here, we correlate the structure and thermal conductivity of uniaxially oriented disentangled ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (dis-UHMWPE) composites reinforced with gold nanoparticles with their electrical properties and potential application as electrical energy storage devices. Stretching increases the orientation of the polymer chains and thus the crystallinity and reduces the aggregation of gold nanoparticles while the thermal conductivity enhances significantly along the orientation axis. The structural changes driven by stretching result in two competing effects; on the one hand, the crystallinity increase reduces the permittivity of the composites and increases the resistivity, while on the other hand the recovery efficiency of oriented materials excels that of unstretched samples by up to 6 times at 5 s. Therefore, our work shows the structure-property relationship in electrical energy storage materials.

Composite nanodielectric materials with strontium titanate nanoparticles embedded within an epoxy resin matrix were prepared and studied, varying the filler content. Broadband dielectric spectroscopy was employed for determining the dielectric response of the prepared specimens. Dielectric results reveal the presence of three relaxations processes, which are attributed to (a) glass to rubber transition of the polymer matrix (alpha-mode), (b) rearrangement of polar side groups (beta-mode), and (c) interfacial polarization between systems' constituents. The stored and harvested energy of the examined nanodielectrics was also evaluated under DC conditions in the applied voltage range of 10-240 V. The coefficient of energy efficiency (n(eff)) was determined for all filler's content, varying the applied temperature and field. The effect of temperature appears to be pronounced, causing a sigmoidal dependence of n(eff). Furthermore, filler content enhances n(eff), reaching the highest value of 69.41% for the 10 phr SrTiO3 nanocomposite at 50 V. Finally, both AC and DC conductivities were evaluated as a function of filler and temperature, and the corresponding activation energies were calculated. Hopping conductivity appears to be the predominant conduction mechanism in all nanocomposite systems, since experimental data are in accordance with variable range hopping model.

The mechanical properties of novel low percolation melt-mixed 3D hierarchical graphene/polypropylene nanocomposites are analyzed in this study. The analysis spans a broad range of techniques and time scales, from impact to tensile, dynamic mechanical behavior, and creep. The applicability of the time–temperature superposition principle and its limitations in the construction of the master curve for the isotactic polypropylene (iPP)-based graphene nanocomposites has been verified and presented. The Williams–Landel–Ferry method has been used to evaluate the dynamics and also Cole–Cole curves were presented to verify the thermorheological character of the nanocomposites. Short term (quasi-static) tensile tests, creep, and impact strength measurements were used to evaluate the load transfer efficiency. A significant increase of Young’s modulus with increasing filler content indicates reasonably good dispersion and adhesion between the iPP and the filler. The Young’s modulus results were compared with predicted modulus values using Halpin–Tsai model. An increase in brittleness resulting in lower impact strength values has also been recorded.

BaTiO3 is one of the most widely used ceramic components in capacitor formulation due to its exceptional ferroelectric properties. The structural transition from the ferroelectric tetragonal to the paraelectric cubic phase has been studied in both nano- and micro-BaTiO3 particles. Several experimental techniques were employed for characterization purposes (X-ray diffraction-XRD, laser Raman spectroscopy-LRS, differential scanning calorimetry-DSC and broadband dielectric spectroscopy-BDS). All gave evidence for the structural transition from the polar tetragonal to the non-polar cubic phase in both nano- and micro-BaTiO3 particles. Variation of Full Width at Half Maximum (FWHM) with temperature in XRD peaks was employed for the determination of the critical Curie temperature (Tc). In micro-BaTiO3 particles (Tc) lies close to 120 °C, while in nanoparticles the transition is complicated due to the influence of particles' size. Below (Tc) both phases co-exist in nanoparticles. (Tc) was also determined via the temperature dependence of FWHM and found to be 115 °C. DSC, LRS and BDS provided direct results, indicating the transition in both nano- and micro-BaTiO3 particles. Finally, the 15 parts per hundred resin per weight (phr) BaTiO3/epoxy nanocomposite revealed also the transition through the peak formation at approximately 130 °C in the variation of FWHM with temperature. The present work introduces, for the first time, a qualitative tool for the determination and study of the ferroelectric to paraelectric structural transition in both nano- and micro-ferroelectric particles and in their nanocomposites. Moreover, its novelty lies on the effect of crystals' size upon the ferroelectric to the paraelectric phase transition and its influence on physical properties of BaTiO3.

Composite nanodielectrics consisted of an epoxy resin and barium titanate nanoparticles were developed and characterised. Electrical measurements were performed via broadband dielectric spectroscopy. Dielectric results reveal the presence of three relaxation processes, which are attributed to (a) glass to rubber transition of the polymer matrix (α-mode), (b) re-arrangement of polar side groups (β-mode) and (c) interfacial polarisation between system's constituents. The ability of the examined nanodielectrics to store and harvest energy was also examined in dc conditions. Applied dc voltage varied in the range of 10–240 V. Experimental data indicate that increasing the applied dc field results to higher values of the stored and harvested energies. The energy efficiency was also investigated in all specimens. The filler content enhances the coefficient of energy efficiency (n(eff)) up to 58.2% for the 7 phr BaTiO(3) nanocomposite at 200 V and 10 s charging/discharging time.