SBIR Phase II: High Energy Density Nanodielectrics for Commercial Pulse Power Applications

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project focuses on developing a new category of high energy-density nanocomposite dielectric materials for use in high pulse power capacitors. The approach is to bring together nanostructures in a polypropylene matrix to form a novel nanocomposite material with high effective dielectric constant, high breakdown voltage, and low dissipation factor. In Phase I we successfully produced a nanocomposite dielectric material by uniformly dispersing chemically modified ferroelectric nanoparticles into a polypropylene (PP) matrix to form a novel material with high effective dielectric constant and high energy density for capacitor applications. This high nanoparticle content film exhibits a charged energy density of 6.85 J/cm3, a dielectric constant of 31.97, and breakdown voltage of 220 MV/m. This combination of high energy density and high dielectric constant has not been attained previously from either commercial PP or PP nanocomposites dielectric films. The Phase II effort is directed towards developing a prototype process suitable for commercializing these high energy density nanodielectric films for capacitor applications. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is the introduction of new highperformance nanocomposite dielectric materials. The proposed materials could be employed in commercial high-power pulse, fast pulse, and high-energy density capacitors, resulting in reduced size, reduced weight, and improved circuit design. The proposed nanocomposite dielectric technology can make a needed difference in a variety of industrial fields. The commercial opportunities include all high energy density electronic devices and packaging for medical, communication, transportation, and power distribution systems, in products such as implantable and portable defibrillators, lithotripters, medical and commercial lasers, pulse forming networks, A.C. motors, ultrasonic transducer exciter, strobe lighting, and acceleration and energy recovery systems of automobiles. The proposed nanocomposite dielectric materials can also be used in military and aerospace electronic devices. In addition, this new class of nanocomposite materials may enable new devices besides capacitors that need the unique properties of this novel material system.