Dielectric and magneto-dielectric properties of nickel-coated multiwalled carbon nanotube filler-reinforced poly(vinylidene fluoride) flexible films

The impact of the inclusion of nickel-coated multiwalled carbon nanotube (Ni-MWCNT) filler in poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) matrix is reported in the present work. The fabricated flexible composite systems are characterized to study the behavioral changes in optical, electrical, dielectric, and magneto-dielectric aspects. The optical band gap and activation enthalpy have been effectively tuned by adding Ni-MWCNT filler. The optical energy band gap of the composite is significantly reduced with the inclusion of Ni-MWCNTs. The composite films possess enhanced dielectric permittivity and less dielectric loss than pristine PVDF film. At room temperature and 10 kHz frequency, the dielectric permittivity of Ni-MWCNT-PVDF is 20, but for pristine PVDF, it is 6. Due to the incorporation of Ni-coated MWCNT in ferroelectric PVDF, the higher magneto-dielectric coupling is achieved, which facilitates Ni-MWCNT-PVDF film as a promising material.