Electrical Characterization of Polyethylene oxide-Alumina Composite

This study deals with the electrical characterization of polyethylene oxide (PEO) - alumina (Al2O3) composites at several concentrations, 0%, 5%, 10%, and 15% by weight Al2O3. The alternating current electrical properties were studied as a function of frequency in the range from 20 Hz to 1 MHz and studied with filler concentrations. Transmission light microscopy (TLM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed that the dispersed Al2O3 particles were randomly distributed within the PEO matrix with some surface contacts between them and also revealed that the ceramic particles are tightly held by the host matrix material. The melting temperature, Tm, was determined for the composites via differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The AC electrical properties (impedance, real part of impedance, imaginary part of impedance, dissipation factor, dielectric constant, real part of electric modulus, imaginary part of electric modulus, electrical conductivity, and relaxation time) were determined. It was found that the applied frequency and filler concentrations affected the AC electrical properties of the composites. The universal power-law of alternating current conductivity was observed in the PEO/Al2O3 composites. The calculated power exponent (n<1) is physically acceptable within this applied model.