Dielectric behavior of Silica/Poly(dimethylsiloxane) nanocomposites. nano size effects

The enhancement of properties of elastomeric composite materials is very much dependent on the size and the surface modification of the reinforcing filler inclusions. It is well accepted that the reinforcement effects are primarily due to molecular interactions of the polymeric matrix and the filler inclusions and it involves both chemical and physical interactions. In the present study, we have incorporated silica nano fillers (Stober silica) into poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) elastomeric networks. The dielectric properties of the networks were investigated as a function of filler nano filler size, volume fraction, and surface treatment by hexamethyldisilazane. The broad-spectrum dielectric properties (in particular, the dielectric constant, the dielectric loss, and tan δ) were characterized. These properties were found to be dependent on the size of the nano inclusions; thus, the results clearly showed a nano size phenomenon that was a highlight of the present research. Certainly, that can be largely attributed to the high specific surface area of the nano fillers, which significantly leads to a pronounced increase in interfacial interactions. Also, and as would be expected, the dielectric properties of the polymeric networks filled with unmodified particles were different from those for the polymeric networks filled with surface-modified particles. Again, this is mainly attributed to changes in the surface properties. The expected dependence of properties of the nanocomposite networks on the nature of the filler and its concentration has thus been demonstrated.