Polymer Nanocomposites for Dielectrics

by Katie Zhong (Author), Bin Li (Author)

Polymers have been applied as dielectric materials owing to their light weight, great flexibility, and processability as well as high insulation properties. To enhance their performance for various desired dielectric applications, fabrication of polymeric nanocomposites is believed to be one of the most effective approaches. By controlling the nanomaterial dispersion and interfacial structures with the polymer matrices in nanocomposites, dielectric properties can be tailored for specific applications.

This book reviews representative polymer nanocomposite systems, focusing on the roles of nanodispersion, interfacial structures, and properties of polymer matrix materials in the dielectric properties and energy storage performance. The book reviews various dielectric relaxation models applicable to the analysis of polymer nanocomposites. It compiles the recent progress in new dielectric polymer nanocomposites based on biomaterials and hybrid nanomaterial systems for advanced dielectric applications.

About the Author
In 2007, Dr. Zhong joined Washington State University, in which currently she is an endowed chair professor, Westinghouse Distinguished Professor. Dr. Zhong is a reviewer/panelist for NSF, DoE and DoD grant proposals and a consultant for The Boeing Company in the area of nanotechnology since 2006. She has been an instructor for the Boeing Nanotechnology Curriculum for the Engineering and Scientific staff. Dr. Zhong received numerous awards/honors including the Dow Chemical Composites Educator of the Year 2011 by SPE, selected one of the 15 World’s Best Scholars to University British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada, in 2012. In addition, she was awarded the Excellent Academic Advisor at WSU in 2013, because she has graduated several outstanding PhD students who received quite a few international rewards/global honors, such as Boeing Flightglobal Awards/Boeing Engineering Student of the Year 2010 (2nd place) and 2012 (1st place), and Worldwide Top 50 PhD/post-docs by MRS (2 PhD students selected) in 2011. Dr. Zhong has had over 270 publications in polymer composites and energy materials, including 172 peer-reviewed papers, 5 book and book chapters, more than 90 conference papers, and a number of US patents.

Review
"This book is very critical for understanding the advances of the dielectric polymers and their nanocomposites. It provides insightful theoretical knowledge by giving detailed examples for understanding powerful applications of dielectric polymers. It is suitable for beginners and senior scientific researchers/engineers in both academic and industrial fields."

―Dr. John Zhanhu Guo, University of Tennessee, USA