All-organic room temperature thermally switchable dielectric system

Abstract

Room temperature switchable dielectric materials have great potential in applications such as smart sensors, energy storage and circuit protection. In this paper, a novel switchable dielectric system, Span80/HD-PET film system (SHPS), is designed and manufactured based on a “three-layer” model. And the system is built up by stacking all organic components, including the Span80/hexadecane (Span80/HD) mixture and the polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film. The SHPS shows obvious dielectric switching properties when the Span80/HD mixture goes through solid–liquid phase transition. For example, the dielectric switch can be triggered at 13.7 °C during cooling and shows good cycling stability. By changing the thickness of the PET film, the highest switching ratio can be 270.5. Besides, the switching temperature can be adjusted by changing the components of the organic mixture.