Colloidal synthesis of BaF 2 nanoparticles and their application as fillers in polymer nanocomposites

Srivatsan Sathyamurthy, Enis Tuncer, Karren L. More, Baohua Gu, Isidor Sauers, M. Parans Paranthaman

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

13 Scopus citations

Abstract

Nanoparticles of pure and Eu-doped BaF 2 have been prepared through sol-gel colloidal synthesis. In addition, BaF 2-filled PMMA polymer nanocomposites were fabricated and dielectric properties were measured. The as-synthesized pure and Eu-doped BaF 2 nanoparticles were analyzed by both X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy and consisted of crystalline BaF 2 particles with an average diameter of 13.6 nm with a standard deviation of about ±2.4 nm. The photoluminescence properties of the pure and Eu-doped (2%, 4% and 8%) nanoparticles showed characteristic emission of Eu 3+ ( 5D 07F J (J=1-4) transitions). We also measured significantly enhanced dielectric breakdown strength of up to 30% for BaF 2 nanocomposites over the unfilled PMMA polymer. This study thus offers some promise of sol-gel synthesis of nanocomposite dielectrics with great potential for use as electrical insulation materials in cryogenic high-voltage applications.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)661-667
Number of pages7
JournalApplied Physics A: Materials Science and Processing
Volume106
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 2012

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