Enhanced ferroelectric and dielectric properties of the P(VDF-TrFE)/Ag nanoparticles composite thin films

The scope of the present work was the synthesis of homogeneously dispersed silver (Ag) nanoparticles (NPs) in P(VDF-TrFE) polymer by N,N-dimethylformamide’s reducing reaction on silver nitrate and the study on the surface micromorphology, crystalline phases, electrical and optical properties of the P(VDF-TrFE)/Ag NPs composite thin films. The results demonstrate that incorporating appropriate concentration of Ag NPs improve the ferroelectric and dielectric properties with an increase of 38 % in the remanent polarization and 47 % in dielectric constant respectively compared with the pristine P(VDF-TrFE) films. The reasons for the improved properties are explained by the effective compensation to the bounding charges provided by the appropriate amount of the Ag NPs fillers and Ag NPs’ acting as micro capacitors in P(VDF-TrFE) matrix. Furthermore, the surface plasmon resonance absorption in the composite films thin films is observed at the wavelength of ~415 nm, whose intensity is dependent on the density of the Ag NPs.