• Sauers, Isidor
• Sathyamurthy, Srivatsan
• Tuncer, Enis

Abstract

Nanoparticles of pure and Eu-doped BaF2 have been prepared through sol-gel colloidal synthesis. In addition, BaF2-filled PMMA polymer nanocomposites were fabricated and dielectric properties were measured. The as-synthesized pure and Eu-doped BaF2 nanoparticles were analyzed by both X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy and consisted of crystalline BaF2 particles with an average diameter of 13.6 nm with a standard deviation of about ±2.4 nm. The photoluminescence properties of the pure and Eu-doped (2%, 4% and 8%) nanoparticles showed characteristic emission of Eu3+ (5D0→7FJ (J=1–4) transitions). We also measured significantly enhanced dielectric breakdown strength of up to 30% for BaF2 nanocomposites over the unfilled PMMA polymer. This study thus offers some promise of sol-gel synthesis of nanocomposite dielectrics with great potential for use as electrical insulation materials in cryogenic high-voltage applications.

Topics

• nanoparticle
• nanocomposite
• photoluminescence
• polymer
• x-ray diffraction
• strength
• transmission electron microscopy
• dielectric breakdown strength