Nanoparticle boost for capacitors

A new technique for creating films of barium titanate (BaTiO3) nanoparticles in a polymer matrix could allow fabrication of improved capacitors able to store twice the energy of existing devices. The improved capacitors could be used in consumer devices such as mobile phones and in defence applications requiring both high-energy storage and rapid current discharge.

Because of its high dielectric properties, barium titanate has long been of interest for use in capacitors, but until recently materials scientists had been unable to produce good dispersion of the material within a polymer matrix. By using tailored organic phosphonic acids to encapsulate and modify the surface of the nanoparticles, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology’s Centre for Organic Photonics and Electronics were able to overcome the particle dispersion problem to create uniform nanocomposites.

The new nanocomposite materials have been tested at frequencies of up to one megahertz, and even higher frequencies may be possible. Though the new materials could have commercial application without further improvement, their most important contribution may be in demonstrating the new encapsulation technique, which could have broad applications in other nanocomposite materials.