Electrorheological properties of PANI/BaTiO3 nanocomposites

Abstract

Electrorheological (ER) effect and dielectric properties of PANI/BaTiO3 nanocomposite suspensions with various amount of PANI have been investigated. Polymerization of aniline was performed under ultrasonic irradiation in the presence of BaTiO3 nanoparticlcs. In spite of the large dielectric constant, BaTiO3 only shows weak ER effect in DC electric field. The treatment of BaTiO3 significantly increases the intensity of the observed ER response, which continuously rises with PANI content in the system. Attention has also been paid to the analysis of dielectric spectra, where an interfacial polarization seems to be dominant. The maximum of dielectric loss shifts to higher frequencies with increasing PANI concentration, which corresponds to shorter relaxation times.