Preparation and dielectric properties of nano-silver/epoxy composites

Using silver nitrate（AgNO₃）as raw material and polyvinylpyrrolidone（PVP）as protective agent，nano-silver with average size of 80 nm，100 nm，120 nm was prepared by UV chemical reaction in N,N-dimethylformamide（DMF）solution. Scanning electron microscopy and laser particle size analyzer were used to investigate the degree of dispersion and particle size of nano-silver. Nano Ag/epoxy composite was prepared by solution-ultrasonic method and was characterized with XRD，FT-IR spectroscopy. The effects of nanoparticle size and content of Ag on the electrical properties of composite were discussed. A specific size and distribution of nano-silver could increase the breakdown strength of the epoxy. The smaller the particle size of nano-Ag was，the more obvious enhancement of breakdown strength was observed. The dielectric strength of epoxy increased with increasing Ag content at first，and then decreased. Dielectric constant and dielectric loss of the composite had little change. It was assumed that the silver did not increase the system dielectric loss. These particular phenomena could be explained by “Coulomb blockade effect”. A theoretical and experimental basis for the dielectric properties of modified epoxy resin was provided.