Effect of Molding Techniques on the Electrical Properties of Metallic/Polymethyl Methacrylate Nanocomposite Thin Films

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 department of polymers and pigments, National Research Center

2 Polymers and Pigments Dept. National Research Centre

3 Department of polymers and pigments national research center, Cairo - Egypt

4 Department of microwave Physics and Dielectrics, National Research Centre, Dokki, Giza, P.O. 12622, Egypt.

Abstract

Nanoelectronic applications surpass microelectronics in versatility, with polymer nanocomposites incorporating nano-sized metal powders. These advanced materials offer unique electronic properties and improve plastics for specialized applications. This research highlights the advantages of polymer nanocomposites in nanoelectronics, particularly those incorporating metallic nanoparticles like Ag, Ni, and Ag-Cu core shell within a micronized polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) matrix. The study explores fabrication techniques—compression molding and casting—and their impact on electrical conductivity and dielectric properties. The findings indicate that compression molding at 140°C and 100 lb/in² leads to conductivity variations with frequency, with only NCs containing 30-40% Ni conducting at lower frequencies due to NP agglomeration and embedding in PMMA. The electrical conduction mechanism is confirmed to be of the hopping type. Nevertheless, the synthesized nanocomposites (NCs) demonstrate potential for use in high-frequency electronic applications due to their favorable dielectric and conduction properties. Conversely, casting produces highly semiconducting films, especially with 20% Ag NPs, 30% Ag-Cu core shell, and Ni NPs (ϭac`10-3-10-4 S/cm). The dielectric permittivity (ε′) remains largely frequency-independent, forming a plateau, but shows higher values at low frequencies. The casting technique yields films with significantly higher energy storage capacity compared to those fabricated using compression methods. In general, the real part of the dielectric constant (ε′) increases with rising metal content. Among the studied materials, the nickel group exhibits notably higher dielectric constant values, highlighting their suitability for energy storage applications.

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Egyptian Journal of Chemistry
Volume 68, Issue 13 - Serial Number 13
(In Loving Memory of Late Professor Doctor”Zeinab M. Nofal” In progress
December 2025
Pages 1075-1084

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History

  • Receive Date: 21 April 2025
  • Revise Date: 30 May 2025
  • Accept Date: 15 June 2025

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