Significantly enhanced energy storage density by modulating the aspect ratio of BaTiO₃ nanofibers

There is a growing need for high energy density capacitors in modern electric power supplies. The creation of nanocomposite systems based on one-dimensional nanofibers has shown great potential in achieving a high energy density since they can optimize the energy density by exploiting both the high permittivity of ceramic fillers and the high breakdown strength of the polymer matrix. In this paper, BaTiO₃ nanofibers (NFs) with different aspect ratio were synthesized by a two-step hydrothermal method and the permittivity and energy storage of the P(VDF-HFP) nanocomposites were investigated. It is found that as the BaTiO₃ NF aspect ratio and volume fraction increased the permittivity and maximum electric displacement of the nanocomposites increased, while the breakdown strength decreased. The nanocomposites with the highest aspect ratio BaTiO₃ NFs exhibited the highest energy storage density at the same electric field. However, the nanocomposites with the lowest aspect ratio BaTiO₃ NFs achieved the maximal energy storage density of 15.48 J/cm³ due to its higher breakdown strength. This contribution provides a potential route to prepare and tailor the properties of high energy density capacitor nanocomposites.