Experimental and theoretical dielectric studies of PVDF/PZT nanocomposite thin films

► In this research, PZT-NPs, PVDF thin films, and PVDF/PZT nanocomposite thin films were made. ► The dielectric properties of the PZT-NPs and PVDF thin film were measured. ► The dielectric properties of the PVDF/PZT nanocomposite were theoretically and experimentally were investigated. ► Increasing the filler will decrease the dielectric constant of the composite. ► The Furukawa theory found as a suitable theory to calculate the dielectric properties of PVDF/PZT nanocomposite. Poly(vinylidene fluoride)/lead zirconate titanate nanocomposite thin films (PVDF/PZT-NPs) were successfully prepared by mixing fine Pb(Zr 0.52,Ti 0.48)O 3 nanoparticles (PZT-NPs) into a PVDF solution under ultrasonication. The mixture was spin coated onto glass substrate and then cured at 110 °C. X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to characterize the structure and properties of the obtained thin-film nanocomposites. The dielectric properties of the PVDF/PZT-NPs were analyzed in detail with respect to frequency. In comparison with pure poly (vinylidene fluoride), the dielectric constant of the nanocomposite (15 vol.% PZT-NPs) was significantly increased, whereas the loss tangent was unchanged in the frequency range of 100 Hz to 30 MHz. The nanocomposites exhibited good dielectric stability over a wide frequency range. Different theoretical approaches were employed to predict the effective dielectric constants of the thin film nanocomposite systems, and the estimated results were compared with the experimental data.