There is an ever increasing demand for high energy density storage devices for pulse power applications. Polymer composites offers a solution as it incorporates the high charge storage capability of the filler particles with graceful failure mechanisms of the matrix polymer. A significant challenge in realizing the potential of these systems is the poor interaction between the filler particles and the polymer. This work attempts to develop a composite with novel mixed metal phosphonate fillers. These fillers have been observed to better disperse in the polymer matrix compared to unmodified and surface-modified fillers. In addition, an embedded-sphere method was developed to measure dielectric breakdown strength in composites. This technique helped in minimizing low-field breakdown events due to the deleterious effects of the surrounding medium. A combination of these approaches has resulted in a 3-fold increase in stored electrical energy in composites over plain polymer.

Shiva Balasubramanian earned his bachelors degree in Chemical and Electrochemical Engineering from Central Electrochemical Research Institute (CECRI)in 2005 and his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of South Carolina in 2011. He is a wet processing engineer at the Die Embedding Technology & Development Center at Intel, Chandler, AZ.