The effect of material processing on the dielectric properties of polystyrene boron nitride nanocomposites

Extensive experimental work in the area of polymer nanocomposites has been done over the past two decades to explore their potential. In this study, a range of related polymer nanocomposite materials was prepared using a solvent blending method, using dichloromethane (DCM), toluene (TOL) and chlorobenzene (CB) to dissolve the polymer, atactic polystyrene (a-PS), and disperse the filler, hexagonal boron nitride (hBN). Where TOL and CB were used, heat was used in material processing, whereas the material was processed at room temperature with DCM. The largest increase in breakdown strength is observed in the materials processed with TOL and CB. The hBN appears to be well dispersed in these systems and more agglomerated in the DCM system as shown from SEM.