High-Temperature Polyimide Dielectric Materials for Energy Storage

The availability of high-temperature dielectrics is key to develop advanced electronics and power systems that operate under extreme environmental conditions. In the past few years, many improvements have been made and many exciting developments have taken place. However, currently available candidate materials and methods still do not meet the applicable standards. Polyimide (PI) was found to be the preferred choice for high-temperature dielectric films development due to its thermal stability, dielectric properties, and flexibility. However, it has disadvantages such as a relatively low dielectric permittivity. This chapter presents an overview of recent progress on PI dielectric materials for high-temperature capacitive energy storage applications. In this way, a new molecular design of the skeleton structure of PI should be performed to balance size and thermal stability and to optimize energy storage property for high-temperature application. The improved performance can be generated via incorporation of inorganic units into polymers to form organic-inorganic hybrid and composite structures.