Largely enhanced energy storage capability of a polymer nanocomposite utilizing a core-satellite strategy

Abstract

The development of new generation dielectric materials toward capacitive energy storage has been driven by the rise of high-power applications such as electric vehicles, aircraft, and pulsed power systems. Here we demonstrate remarkable improvements in the energy density and charge–discharge efficiency of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) upon the incorporation of core-satellite structures, namely NaNbO₃(NN)@polydopamine (PDA)@Ag nanowires. As compared to the NN NWs/PVDF and NN@PDA NWs/PVDF nanocomposites, the NN@PDA@Ag NWs/PVDF nanocomposites exhibit greatly enhanced energy density and significantly suppressed energy loss. As a result, the NN@PDA@Ag NWs/PVDF nanocomposite films with optimized filler content exhibit an excellent discharge energy density of 16.04 J cm⁻³ at 485 MV m⁻¹, and maintain a high discharge efficiency of 62.8%. Moreover, the corresponding nanocomposite films exhibit a superior power density of 2.1 MW cm⁻³ and ultra-fast discharge speed of 153 ns. Ultimately, the excellent dielectric and capacitive properties of the polymer nanocomposites could pave the way for widespread applications in modern electronics and power modules.