Energy Storage Performance of Polymer-Based Dielectric Composites with Two-Dimensional Fillers

Dielectric capacitors have garnered significant attention in recent decades for their wide range of uses in contemporary electronic and electrical power systems. The integration of a high breakdown field polymer matrix with various types of fillers in dielectric polymer nanocomposites has attracted significant attention from both academic and commercial sectors. The energy storage performance is influenced by various essential factors, such as the choice of the polymer matrix, the filler type, the filler morphologies, the interfacial engineering, and the composite structure. However, their application is limited by their large amount of filler content, low energy densities, and low-temperature tolerance. Very recently, the utilization of two-dimensional (2D) materials has become prevalent across several disciplines due to their exceptional thermal, electrical, and mechanical characteristics. Compared with zero-dimensional (0D) and one-dimensional (1D) fillers, two-dimensional fillers are more effective in enhancing the dielectric and energy storage properties of polymer-based composites. The present review provides a comprehensive overview of 2D filler-based composites, encompassing a wide range of materials such as ceramics, metal oxides, carbon compounds, MXenes, clays, boron nitride, and others. In a general sense, the incorporation of 2D fillers into polymer nanocomposite dielectrics can result in a significant enhancement in the energy storage capability, even at low filler concentrations. The current challenges and future perspectives are also discussed.

Methyl Methacrylate-co-glycidyl Methacrylate-Based Dielectric Films with High Breakdown Strength and Discharge Energy Density Tailored by PVDF

Linear dielectric polymers are potential candidates for electrostatic capacitors due to their high breakdown strength, high efficiency, and low dielectric loss. In this work, a novel poly (vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) tailored linear PMMA-co-GMA (MG) copolymer-based all-organic dielectric film with high breakdown strength and discharge energy density was prepared by the solution blending method. Compared with the PMMA homopolymer, the MG copolymer behaved with a higher energy density (5.6 J/cm³) since the GMA component bestowed higher polarity and yielded deep traps for the copolymer. On the other hand, the introduction of PVDF into MG further improved the dielectric constant and overcame the brittleness of MG films. When the concentration of PVDF was 30 wt %, the MG/PVDF film exhibited a high discharged energy density of 10.8 J/cm³ at 600 MV/m with a 78.7% discharge efficiency, which was 2.5 times that of pure PVDF (4.3 J/cm³ at 320 MV/m) and 1.9 times that of pure MG (5.6 J/cm³ at 460 MV/m). The improvement in energy storage performance might be ascribed to the excellent thermodynamic miscibility and hydrogen bond interaction between the linear MG copolymer and the ferroelectric PVDF. This research provides a new and feasible strategy for designing all-organic dielectric films with high energy density for energy storage applications.

Energy Storage Application of All-Organic Polymer Dielectrics: A Review

With the wide application of energy storage equipment in modern electronic and electrical systems, developing polymer-based dielectric capacitors with high-power density and rapid charge and discharge capabilities has become important. However, there are significant challenges in synergistic optimization of conventional polymer-based composites, specifically in terms of their breakdown and dielectric properties. As the basis of dielectrics, all-organic polymers have become a research hotspot in recent years, showing broad development prospects in the fields of dielectric and energy storage. This paper reviews the research progress of all-organic polymer dielectrics from the perspective of material preparation methods, with emphasis on strategies that enhance both dielectric and energy storage performance. By dividing all-organic polymer dielectrics into linear polymer dielectrics and nonlinear polymer dielectrics, the paper describes the effects of three structures (blending, filling, and multilayer) on the dielectric and energy storage properties of all-organic polymer dielectrics. Based on the above research progress, the energy storage applications of all-organic dielectrics are summarized and their prospects discussed.

Improving the Energy Density and Efficiency of the Linear Polymer PMMA with a Double-Bond Fluoropolymer at Elevated Temperatures

A variety of applications can be found for high-temperature film capacitors, including energy storage components and pulsed power sources. In this work, in order to increase the energy density (U _e), poly(vinylidene fluoride-chlorotrifluoroethylene-double bond) (P-DB) is introduced into poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) to manufacture composite films by a solution casting process. In the case of the pure PMMA film, there is significant improvement in the polarization (P _max) and breakdown field (E _b) of the composite film. These improvements can effectively increase the U _e of the composite film at room temperature and the elevated temperature. The results show that at an elevated temperature of 90 °C and at 350 MV/m, the U _e of 40 vol % P-DB reaches 8.7 J/cm³, and the efficiency (η) of 77% is also considerable. Compared with biaxially oriented polypropylene (2.0 J/cm³), the proposed film exhibits 4 times enhancement in the energy storage density, meaning that it can be an energy storage capacitor with huge potential at high temperatures.

Excellent Energy Storage Performance of Ferroconcrete-like All-Organic Linear/Ferroelectric Polymer Films Utilizing Interface Engineering

Ferroelectric polymers are regarded as the preferred material in dielectric energy storage devices because of their high dielectric constant. However, their relatively low breakdown strength and efficiency restrict their practical application. This work combines coaxial spinning and hot pressing to compound the highly insulating linear poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and ferroelectric poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) to obtain a PMMA/PVDF all-organic film with a ferroconcrete-like structure. Further, improvements in the energy storage performance over those of the pristine polymer were achieved via modulation of the PMMA to PVDF ratio. The 45% PMMA/PVDF film had an energy storage density of 17.7 J/cm³ and an energy efficiency of 73% at 640 kV/mm. Moreover, 51% PMMA/PVDF exhibited the best energy storage density (U = 20.7 J/cm³, η = 63% at 630 kV/mm). This work, therefore, provides a new idea for the design of all-organic polymer films for the field of energy storage.

Improved Energy Storage Performance of All-Organic Composite Dielectric via Constructing Sandwich Structure

Improving the energy storage density of dielectrics without sacrificing charge-discharge energy storage efficiency and reliability is crucial to the performance improvement of modern electrical and electronic systems, but traditional methods of doping high-dielectric ceramics cannot achieve high energy storage densities without sacrificing reliability and storage efficiency. Here, an all-organic energy storage dielectric composed of ferroelectric and linear polymer with a sandwich structure is proposed and successfully prepared by the electrostatic spinning method. Additionally, the effect of the ferroelectric/linear volume ratio on the dielectric properties, breakdown, and energy storage is systematically studied. The results show that the structure has good energy storage characteristics with a high energy storage density (9.7 J/cm³) and a high energy storage efficiency (78%). In addition, the energy storage density of the composite dielectric under high energy storage efficiency (90%) is effectively improved (25%). This result provides theoretical analysis and experience for the preparation of multilayer energy storage dielectrics which will promote the development and application of energy storage dielectrics.

Polymer Matrix Nanocomposites with 1D Ceramic Nanofillers for Energy Storage Capacitor Applications

Recent developments in various technologies, such as hybrid electric vehicles and pulsed power systems, have challenged researchers to discover affordable, compact, and super-functioning electric energy storage devices. Among the existing energy storage devices, polymer nanocomposite film capacitors are a preferred choice due to their high power density, fast charge and discharge speed, high operation voltage, and long service lifetime. In the past several years, they have been extensively researched worldwide, with 0D, 1D, and 2D nanofillers being incorporated into various polymer matrixes. However, 1D nanofillers appeared to be the most effective in producing large dipole moments, which leads to a considerably enhanced dielectric permittivity and energy density of the nanocomposite. As such, this Review focuses on recent advances in polymer matrix nanocomposites using various types of 1D nanofillers, i.e., linear, ferroelectric, paraelectric, and relaxor-ferroelectric for energy storage applications. Correspondingly, the latest developments in the nanocomposite dielectrics with highly oriented, surface-coated, and surface-decorated 1D nanofillers are presented. Special attention has been paid to identifying the underlying mechanisms of maximizing dielectric displacement, increasing dielectric breakdown strength, and enhancing the energy density. This Review also presents some suggestions for future research in low-loss, high energy storage devices.

Decorating TiO2 Nanowires with BaTiO3 Nanoparticles: A New Approach Leading to Substantially Enhanced Energy Storage Capability of High-k Polymer Nanocomposites

The urgent demand of high energy density and high power density devices has triggered significant interest in high dielectric constant (high-k) flexible nanocomposites comprising dielectric polymer and high-k inorganic nanofiller. However, the large electrical mismatch between polymer and nanofiller usually leads to earlier electric failure of the nanocomposites, resulting in an undesirable decrease of electrical energy storage capability. A few studies show that the introduction of moderate-k shell onto a high-k nanofiller surface can decrease the dielectric constant mismatch, and thus, the corresponding nanocomposites can withstand high electric field. Unfortunately, the low apparent dielectric enhancement of the nanocomposites and high electrical conductivity mismatch between matrix and nanofiller still result in low energy density and low efficiency. In this study, it is demonstrated that encapsulating moderate-k nanofiller with high-k but low electrical conductivity shell is effective to significantly enhance the energy storage capability of dielectric polymer nanocomposites. Specifically, using BaTiO₃ nanoparticles encapsulated TiO₂ (BaTiO₃@TiO₂) core-shell nanowires as filler, the corresponding poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropylene) nanocomposites exhibit superior energy storage capability in comparison with the nanocomposites filled by either BaTiO₃ or TiO₂ nanowires. The nanocomposite film with 5 wt % BaTiO₃@TiO₂ nanowires possesses an ultrahigh discharged energy density of 9.95 J cm^-3 at 500 MV m^-1, much higher than that of commercial biaxial-oriented polypropylene (BOPP) (3.56 J cm^-3 at 600 MV m^-1). This new strategy and corresponding results presented here provide new insights into the design of dielectric polymer nanocomposites with high electrical energy storage capability.