Dielectric properties of novel polyurethane/silica nanowire composites.

An aliphatic isocyanate, polyether, polyol thermoplastic polyurethane, Tecoflex SG-85A, was solution processed with the varying amounts of silica nanowire. The dielectric permittivity (epsilon') and loss factor (epsilon") were measured via Dielectric Analysis (DEA) in the frequency range 1 Hz to 100 kHz and between the temperature -150 to 150 degrees C. The electric modulus formalism was used to reveal alpha, beta and conductivity relaxations. The activation energies for the relaxations are presented. Nanocomposites were also characterized by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) to determine glass transition temperatures. The onset of decomposition temperature was measured by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) provided images of the polymer-nanocomposites.