High-energy-density sol-gel thin film based on neat 2-cyanoethyltrimethoxysilane

Hybrid organic-inorganic sol-gel dielectric thin films from a neat 2-cyanoethyltrimethoxysilane (CNETMS) precursor have been fabricated and their permittivity, dielectric strength, and energy density characterized. CNETMS sol-gel films possess compact, polar cyanoethyl groups and exhibit a relative permittivity of 20 at 1 kHz and breakdown strengths ranging from 650 V/μm to 250 V/μm for film thicknesses of 1.3 to 3.5 μm. Capacitors based on CNETMS films exhibit extractable energy densities of 7 J/cm(3) at 300 V/μm, as determined by charge-discharge and polarization-electric field measurements, as well as an energy extraction efficiency of ~91%. The large extractable energy resulting from the linear dielectric polarization behavior suggests that CNETMS films are promising sol-gel materials for pulsed power applications.