Abstract
PMMA/ZnO polymer–ceramic nanocomposite films were fabricated by dispersing zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles up to 10 wt.% into the polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) using ultrasonic probe sonication and subsequent solution casting. Impedance measurements were performed to determine the frequency-dependent dielectric constant and electrical conductivity of the nanocomposites. Mechanical-to-electrical energy-conversion characteristics of the composites were evaluated by measuring the current and voltage produced under cyclic mechanical loading. The dielectric constant (\({\upvarepsilon }_{{\text{r}}}\)) was found to increase with increasing ZnO content at a frequency of 20 Hz. However, the values of \({\upvarepsilon }_{{\text{r}}}\) decreased monotonically as the frequency increased from 20 to 200 Hz. The dielectric constant of nanocomposites varied from 4.7 for PMMA to 6.9 for 10-wt.% ZnO nanocomposite at 20 Hz. The conductivity of nanocomposites varied from \(5.2 nS{m}^{-1}\) to 7.6 \(nS{m}^{-1}\) in the same range. The maximum average current and voltage output of 10 wt.% ZnO nanocomposites were found to be ~ 24 nA and ~ 4 V, respectively, under the mechanical force of \(2.58\pm 0.01\) N. These results are critical in determining processing–structure–electrical property correlations in PMMA/ZnO nanocomposite films and exhibit the potential for self-powered micro-devices.
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The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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The author acknowledges the primary institution Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar for facilitating the research work.
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Krishna, B., Kumar, J. & Shukla, P.K. Processing, microstructure, and electrical properties of PMMA/ZnO nanocomposite films for prospective energy-conversion applications. Multiscale and Multidiscip. Model. Exp. and Des. (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41939-024-00438-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41939-024-00438-y