Study of dielectric relaxation and charge transport of titanium dioxide-polyvinyl chloride nanocomposites

Titanium dioxide, TiO2, nanoparticles were prepared using the sol–gel method and mixed in various ratios with polyvinyl chloride (PVC) to create nanocomposite films. All prepared samples were examined using X-ray diffraction (XRD), and the average crystal size of TiO2 was around 50 nm. The dielectric properties of a TiO2/PVC nanocomposite film were thoroughly investigated. The dielectric constant exhibited a relaxation peak, which is attributed to the dynamic glass transition. The ε′ and ε′′ values increase with increasing temperature and decrease with increasing frequency. Moreover, they increased with the addition of TiO2 nanoparticles. The dielectric modulus (Mʹ, Mʹʹ) and electrical conductivity as a function of temperature and frequency were investigated. The frequency dependence of ac conductivity demonstrates that the conduction mechanism is governed by the correlated barrier hopping model. The complex impedance (Z*) of the prepared films was investigated. Relaxation time, activation energy, and other parameters were computed. The findings of this study were compared and discussed with those of similar nanocomposite films.