New dielectric materials for next generation high performance capacitors

As Denmark has committed itself to full carbon-neutrality by 2050, numerous aspects of the green transition (particularly transportation) require lighter, more compact, and more efficient electronics that can operate at higher temperatures. Capacitors are a key part of this due to their energy storage and current stabilization functions, but current barriers in materials science impede further improvements in energy storage density. The best performing material today for commercial high energy density capacitors is tantalum oxide with around 5 J cm-3, however this is insufficient for upcoming technological applications. Furthermore, increasing the energy density also increases heat generation, which can result in device breakdown. Therefore, developing miniaturized and light capacitor devices that are efficient and reliable at both high temperatures and high voltages remains a significant challenge. We aim to overcome this problem through the development of new and improved dielectric materials, which will be realised by incorporating novel relaxor ferroelectric nanoparticles into a state-of-the-art high temperature polymer matrix. This will be combined with ion beam irradiation as a new approach to alter the nanoparticles’ surface polarization to achieve significant improvement in energy density performance. A theoretical model of the ion beam modification of the nanoparticles will be developed to gain insights into this poorly understood mechanism, while different device configurations will be explored to mitigate thermal breakdown. This work has the potential to develop a revolutionary dielectric material with excellent energy storage capability to fulfil the increased demand of electrical energy storage and power conditioning.

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