Original Article

Dielectric and
microwave properties
of polyvinyl chloride/
graphite/nickel
composites and its
applications

Journal of Thermoplastic Composite

Materials
2014, Vol. 27(4) 528540
The Author(s) 2012
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DOI: 10.1177/0892705712452745
jtc.sagepub.com

AA Al-Ghamdi1, Omar A Al-Hartomy1,2,

F Al-Solamy3,4, Attieh A Al-Ghamdi5,
Nikolay Dishovsky6, EH El-Mossalamy7
and Farid El-Tantawy8

Abstract
A novel dry phantom nanoconducting composite that can simulate the effect of electromagnetic wave on human tissues composed of graphite/nickel (GN) nanoparticles and
polyvinyl chloride (PVC) was successfully fabricated. The morphology of as-synthesized
graphite nanosheets and PVC/GN composites was investigated by means of scanning
electron microscope. Dielectric parameters such as relative permittivity, imaginary
permittivity, and alternating current conductivity are evaluated in the frequency range
of 0.512 GHz. The results are compared with the in vitro equivalent human tissue data
and good agreement is reported. The absorption and reflection coefficient as a function
of frequency of nanocomposites were also studied. The novel PVC/GN nanocomposites

Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, University of Tabuk, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia
3
Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science, University of Tabuk, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia
4
Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science, King AbdulAziz University, Saudi Arabia
5
Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, King Abdelaziz University, North Campus, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
6
Department of Polymer Engineering, University of Chemical Technology and Metallurgy, Sofia, Bulgaria
7
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
8
Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt
2

Corresponding author:
AA Al-Ghamdi, Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, King Abdelaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Email: aghamdi90@hotmail.com

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have potential applications for dry phantom and the coupling media in microwave
medical imaging.
Keywords
Nanoconducting composites, dry phantom, microstructure, and electrical properties,
microwave properties

Introduction
Nanoconducting composites have received increasingly more attention for their potential
applications as practical structural and functional materials.15 Today, research and
development are performed with a high-speed and high-capacity communication using
higher frequencies than the frequency band previously used in communications and
broadcasting.610 One example is using ultra-wideband (UWB) technology, which is the
next-generation of communication system. UWB technology mainly focuses on shortrange, high-capacity indoor communications, communicates using pulses with narrow
time widths, and uses a wide frequency bandwidth of 3.110.6 GHz.1115 Conductive
polymer nanocomposites are becoming increasingly useful because of their unique combination of metallic conductivity and polymer properties. These materials are widely
used as microwave absorbing materials, electromagnetic shielding materials, antistatic
materials, and others.15 Graphite is layered minerals composed of weakly bonded large
number of graphene sheets that are held together by van der Walls forces with a large
aspect ratio.9,10 Some of the nanocomposite materials suitable for use in vivo as artificial
organs and tissues have been an intriguing topic of research in recent years.1620 The
human tissues can be classified into two categories: low water content tissues such as fat
and skull and high water content tissues such as brain and muscle.1,2 There are several
types of phantoms that are already in use as tissue substitutes for microwave medical
imaging.1620 These compounds composed of polyethylene and/or agar contain sodium
chloride and water, and the other phantoms from ceramics.6,7 The disadvantage of these
kinds of phantoms material are that they decompose overtime, cannot form hard ceramics easily, variability between repeated dilutions and inhomogeneities from air bubbles
or precipitants, and long setup times.8,9 The phantom material should have the same
dielectric properties such as relative real permittivity and conductivity, shape, and size
similar to human tissues.24 Because the relative real permittivity and conductivity are
material constants depending on a given frequency, it is very important to understand the
dielectric characteristics of the materials in constructing the phantom model. Tell now,
there are no published reports on the fabrication of PVC/GN nanocomposites for phantom materials. In this article, a new dry phantom nanoconducting composite of graphite/
nickel (GN) nanoparticles reinforced polyvinyl chloride (PVC) was fabricated. The
influence of GN content on the microstructure and structure was investigated in terms
of scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The applicability of PVC/GN composites as
a dry phantom and microwave imagining devices were examined in details in the frequency range from 1 to 12 GHz.
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Experimental details
Material description
Natural flake graphite with an average diameter of 500 mm and surface area of 46 m2/g
used for preparing the expanded (exfoliated) graphite is purchased from Shandong
Qingdao Graphite Company (Qingdao, China). Commercial concentrated sulfuric acid
and nitric acid from Egyptian Chemical Company (Cairo, Egypt) was used as chemical
intercalant and oxidizer to prepare exfoliated graphite. The 95% (v/v) alcohol and distilled water were used as solvents for the preparation of foliated (nanosheets) graphite.
PVC was obtained from Tokyo Chemical Industry Co. Ltd (Tokyo, Japan). Nickel
powder was supplied by Wako Chemical Company with particle size 10 mm.

Preparation of exfoliated graphite

Natural flake graphite was first dried in a vacuum oven for 24 h at 100 C. Then, a
mixture of concentrated sulfuric acid and nitric acid (ratio 4:1, v/v) is added slowly to a
glass flask containing graphite flakes with vigorous stirring. After 24 h of reaction, the
acid-treated graphite flake was filtered and washed with deionized water until the pH
level of the solution reached 6.4. After being dried at 100 C for 24 h, the resulting
graphite intercalation compound was subjected to a thermal shock at 1100 C for 50 s
in a muffle furnace to form exfoliated (expanded) graphite with surface area of
141 m2/g.

Preparation of foliated graphite nanosheets

We sonicated the expanded graphite in alcohol solution to gain shiny graphite powder. In
a typical synthetic procedure for foliated graphite nanosheets, 1 g of exfoliated graphite
was mixed and saturated with 400 ml alcohol solution consisting of alcohol and distilled
water with a ratio of 70:30 for 24 h. Then the mixture was subjected to ultrasonic
irradiation with a power of 400 W for 24 h. After 24 h of sonication, exfoliated graphite
particles were effectively fragmented into foliated (nanosheets) graphite. The foliated
graphite dispersion was then filtered and dried at 100 C to remove residual solvents. The
as-synthesized foliated graphite powder is called graphite nanosheets in this study.

Preparation of nickel nanoparticles

The starting material for ball milling is Ni (250 mesh) with the purity of above 99.9%.
These Ni powders were placed in stainless steel vials with stainless steel balls of 10 mm
diameter. The ball-to-powder ratio of 15:1 was mixed mechanically in a planetary miller
(Marconi MA 350 ball miller) at 400 r/min under argon atmosphere for 10 h.

Preparation of PVC/GN nanocomposites

The conducting fillers utilized here are composed of graphite nanosheets with an average
thickness of about 3050 nm and Ni with an average particles size of 30 nm. First,
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mixtures of as-prepared graphite nanosheets with conducting nickel nanoparticles 90/

10 wt% were grinded together in a grinding machine for 4 h. Second, the as-received
conducting mixture were added to the PVC matrix and mixed by grinding machine for
30 min. Then the mixture transferred to a hot press at 200 KN/m2 at temperature of
170 C for 10 min. Several batches of PVC/GN weight ratios were considered: 97:03,
94:06, 91:09, and 88:12, respectively, and abbreviated as GN3, GN6, GN9, and
GN12, respectively.

Instruments
The morphology of composites was analyzed using a scanning electron microscopy
(SEM, JSM-5310 LVB, JEOL). The specimens were coated with carbon to avoid charging using a vacuum evaporator (JEOL, GEE 500) and the voltage used was 15 kV. The
microwave dielectric properties of composites were determined by the Hewlett-Packard
waveguide line containing spectroanalyzer, power meter, coefficient of reflection meter,
and coefficient of attenuation meter with an accuracy of 0.1. The measurements were
carried out in the frequency ranges 112 GHz using the cavity perturbation techniques.
The sample dimensions were 20  20  0.5 mm3.

Results and discussion

Dielectric properties of PVC/GN nanocomposites
Dielectric constant of a composite is a parameter to describe the polarization degree of
the composite, which is proportional to the composites dipole polarization.13 Figure 1
depicts the variation in real permittivity "0 and loss tangent tan of PVC/GN
nanocomposites at 1 GHz. It is found that both real permittivity and loss tangent
increased remarkably with an increase in the GN particle volume fraction into composites. The 12 wt% PVC/GN (GN12) nanocomposite sample exhibited a relative
permittivity of 36.20, which was 12 times larger than that of the pure PVC sample,
while the loss tangent only increased seven times. The increase in relative permittivity
with increasing content of GN could be interpreted by interfacial polarization inside
the nanocomposites in applied alternating field.3,4 The increase in the loss tangent with
GN content can be ascribed to the increase in cross-linking density, higher conductivity
of GN filler, and the frequent scattering of phonons in the heterogeneous medium.1
Moreover, the increases in loss tangent could be attributed to the increase in the
polarity of nanocomposites due to the increase in GN loading, which in turn leads
to an increase in the orientation and interfacial polarization. These results indicate
that GN nanoparticles are effective fillers; they improve complex permittivity of
nanocomposites.
The typical scanning electron micrographs of as-synthesized foliated graphite
nanosheets and GN12 sample are depicted in Figure 2(a) and (b), respectively. In
Figure 2(a), we can clearly observe that the ultrasonic radiation breaks down the
worm-like structure and to reduce its size, resulting in individual graphite
nanosheets. It revealed that the expanded graphite was tore to sheets with an average
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80

1.2
Experimental
Lichtenecker Eqn
Smith Eqn
Maxwell Eqn
EMT Eqn
Loss tangent

60

Loss tangent

Relative permittivity

0.8

40

0.4
20

12

GN content (wt%)

Figure 1. Comparison of experimental and theoretical relative permittivity of PVC/GN nanocomposites and loss tangent against GN content.
PVC: polyvinyl chloride; GN: graphite/nickel nanoparticle.

diameter of 10 mm obtained from x-ray analysis. Typical SEM image of GN12 sample is depicted in Figure 2(b). In Figure 2(b), it is clear that PVC chain is effectively
incorporated into the galleries of GN layers. Furthermore, we can clearly observe
that the GN nanoparticles were distributed quite uniformly within the PVC matrix
and no aggregates can be seen in the composite. Because of this special structure,
the interfacial affinity of GN nanoparticles with the PVC matrix increased and led
to an ensured thermal stability and electrical contact that served as the electrically
conductive bridge.1,12
Meanwhile, there are a number of theoretical models to predict the effective real
permittivity of the composites. In this study, the following equations were used to
evaluate the effective relative permittivity of the PVC/GN nanocomposites.
Lichtenecker (logarithmic mixing) model is given by the equation21,22
ln "eff  ln "i 1   ln "m
Smiths mode is given by the equation23
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Figure 2. SEM image of (a) as-prepared graphite nanosheets and (b) SEM image of GN12 sample.
SEM: scanning electron microscopy; GN: graphite/nickel nanoparticle.

"eff




"i  "m
3"m
"m 1   "i  "i
1 3
2"m
"i 2"m




3"i  "m
3"m
1    "i
1

2"m
"i 2"m

Maxwell Garnet model is given by the equation



"eff  "m
"i  "m

"eff 2"m
"i 2"m
Effective medium model is given by the formula


 "i  "m
"eff "m 1
"m n 1   "i  "m

where "eff, "I, and "m are the permittivity of the nanocomposites, the GN filler, and the
PVC matrix, respectively,  is the volume fraction of the GN fillers, and n is the correction factor to compensate for the shape of the fillers used in polymer composites.
In Figure 1, it is observed that the measured relative permittivity shows a deviation
from the predicted values for Lichtenecker, Smiths, and Maxwell models. This is due to
the fact that the complex permittivity depends on several factors like homogeneity and
dispersion of filler, aspect ratio of filler, polarity of filler and matrix, morphology of
filler, size of filler, interface bonding among filler and matrix, extent of filler reinforcement, and others.2024 The reason is that the Lichtenecker model does not consider the
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Journal of Thermoplastic Composite Materials 27(4)

40

PVC
GN3
30

GN6

Relative permittivity

GN9
GN12

20

10

0
0

10

12

Frequency (GHz)

Figure 3. Relative permittivity at room temperature of PVC/GN nanocomposites as a function of

frequencies in the range of 0.512 GHz.
PVC: polyvinyl chloride; GN: graphite/nickel nanoparticle.

filler/matrix interface adhesions, and it is only valid in the case of the filler and matrix
having close value of relative permittivity. But smiths model can not predict the permittivity values of PVC/GN nanocomposites precisely. This can be due to the fact that
the used conducting GN fillers are not spherical but in sheet form.21 The Maxwell Garnet
model also gives a considerably lower estimate for the measured relative permittivity of
PVC/GN naocomposites. This can be due to the various factors, which affect the relative
permittivity of the nanocomposites other than GN filler volume fraction and permittivity
of GN fillers. Among the four models, the experimentally observed relative permittivity
is in excellent agreement with that computed using the effective medium theory. The
obtained value of n for PVC/GN nanocomposites is about 0.67.
Figures 3 and 4 depict room temperature plot of relative permittivity and imaginary
permittivity of PVC/GN nanocomposites as a function of frequencies in the range of
0.512 GHz, respectively. The relative permittivity of green PVC is nearly frequency
independent. Clearly, the relative permittivity and imaginary permittivity increased with
an increase in the GN volume fraction into nanocoposites. It is observed that both the
relative permittivity and imaginary permittivity decrease with increasing frequency. This
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30
PVC
25

GN3

Imaginary permittivity

GN6
GN9

20

GN12

15

10

0
0

10

12

Frequency (GHz)

Figure 4. Imaginary permittivity at room temperature of PVC/GN nanocomposites as a function

of frequencies in the range of 0.512 GHz.
PVC: polyvinyl chloride; GN: graphite/nickel nanoparticle.

result coincides with the studies on dielectric properties of biological tissues.58 The low
dielectric constant of green PVC is attributed to the low polarizability of the molecular
segments of PVC polymer. The decrease in relative permittivity with an increase in the
frequency is attributed to the orientation of the polarization in the microwave field.20 At
relatively low microwave frequencies, the total polarizations by electronic, atomic, and
orientation polarization take place. One the other hand, as the frequency of the applied
field increased, the total polarization decreases into composites. This leads to dielectric
relaxation, which in turn, leads to a decrease in relative permittivity. Furthermore, at
high frequencies due to the rotational displacement of polar groups under the influence
of the electric field, frictional loss increases and it reduces relative permittivity. It is
interesting to mention that, when PVC/GN is mixed in definite proportions, the relative
permittivity and conductivity increases and behaves as an ideal stimulant of low and high
water content biological tissues.
The conductivity can be related to the imaginary part of the complex dielectric
constant
 2f "0 "00r

5
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Journal of Thermoplastic Composite Materials 27(4)

140
GN3
120

GN6

Conductivity ((S/m) 102)

GN9
GN12

100

80

60

40

20

0
0

10

12

Frequency (GHz)

Figure 5. AC conductivity versus frequency of PVC/GN nanocomposites.

AC: alternating current; PVC: polyvinyl chloride; GN: graphite/nickel nanoparticle.

The dependence of the alternating current (AC) conductivity of the PVC/GN nanocomposites on frequency is depicted in Figure 5. The AC conductivity is found to
increase with an increase in frequency. This is due to a large dipole moment of the
nanocomposites with increasing GN nanoparticles. The AC conductivity of dielectric
materials in microwave frequency depends upon the dielectric loss factor. Here, as
frequency increases, the dielectric loss factor also increases. The dielectric loss is a direct
function of the relaxation process, which is due to local motion of polar groups.21,22 At
high frequencies, the friction between molecular chain increases, which leads to
higher dielectric loss. This dielectric loss factor causes the so-called conductivity
relaxations. At this relaxation region, the polarization acquires a component out
of phase with the field and displacement current in phase with the field, resulting
in the thermal dissipation of energy, thus generates dielectric loss and thus AC conductivity increases.
The equivalent phantoms for various low water content biological samples in the
frequency range of 23 GHz are given in Table 1.23,24 Comparison of our results with
different equivalent phantoms is recorded in Table 1, it is noteworthy that the mixing of
graphite nanosheets with nickel nanoparticles in definite proportions with PVC can
simulate phantoms of any of these biological tissues. It can be directly related to its
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Table 1. Relative real permittivity and electrical conductivity of biological tissues and equivalent
phantom from our work in the frequency range 13 GHz.512
Range of relative
real permittivity

Biological name
Bladder (human)
Breast fat (human)
Bone (calcellous, human)
Bone (cortical, ovine)
Bone (cortical, human)
Bone marrow (infiltrated, ovine)
Bone (marrow)
Human (brain)
Chest (fat)

13.5013.10
10.209.80
12.6012.14
11.7811.30
12.4410.96
13.3114.76
4.205.80
3033
2.843.94

Electrical
Equivalent phantom
conductivity (S/m) (our work)
0.2100.215
0.0520.062
0.1500.170
0.0680.710
0.1750.182
0.2310.241
0.0420.055
0.3460.423
0.0120.018

GN3, GN6
GN3
GN3, GN6
GN3
GN3, GN6
GN3, GN6
GN8
GN6, GN9, GN12
GN3

60
PVC
GN3
50

GN6
GN9

Absorbance loss (dB)

GN12
40

30

20

10

10

12

Frequency (GHz)

Figure 6. The absorption coefficients versus frequency of PVC/GN nanocomposites.

PVC: polyvinyl chloride; GN: graphite/nickel nanoparticle.

higher water content compared with that of green PVC and PVC/GN nanocomposites.
Human chest fat, bone marrow, and brain fall in the same dielectric range as GN3, GN6,
and GN9, respectively (Table 1). These composites are noncorrosive, easy to make, and
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Journal of Thermoplastic Composite Materials 27(4)

10

Reflection loss (dB)

GN3
GN6
GN9
GN12

0
1

10

13

Frequency (GHz)

Figure 7. Reflection loss versus frequency of PVC/GN nanocomposites.

PVC: polyvinyl chloride; GN: graphite/nickel nanoparticle.

cost effective, and thus can be used as suitable dry phantom for biological tissue in
microwave medical imaging devices.

Absorption and reflection coefficients of nanocomposites

In order to provide a sound fact for the application of nanocomposites as a phantom
material, the microwave properties like absorption and reflection loss was analyzed on
the basis of the observed absorption and reflection loss with applied frequency. The
absorption and reflection coefficients of composites depend on microstructure, type,
morphology of fillers, and so on.1 The absorption and reflection coefficients versus
frequency of nanocomposites are depicted in Figures 6 and 7, respectively. In Figure 6, it
is observed that the addition of GN particulate improves the absorption coefficient of
nanocomposites and the increment varies with increasing frequency in frequency range
112 GHz. The GN12 sample exhibits good absorption rate due to its high value of
conductivity and relative permittivity. Thereof the PVC/GN nanocomposite is ideal to
use as absorbing material in the microwave tomographic imaging.1012 Furthermore, the
high absorption coefficient of PVC/GN nanocomposites could be attributed to the
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nanosize-confinement effect, which may also have contribution to the high absorption
coefficient of nanocomposites.13,14
In Figure 7, it is seen that the reflection loss decreases with increasing GN content into
composites. This phenomenon is due to the increase in cross-link density and interfacial
bonding among filler and matrix with increasing GN content into composites.

Conclusion
1.
2.

3.
4.

The inclusion of GN nanoparticles enhances the microstructure of PVC composites.

Dielectric parameters such as relative permittivity, imaginary permittivity, and AC
conductivity are evaluated in the frequency range of 0.512 GHz. The results are
compared with the in vitro equivalent human tissue data and good agreement is
reported.
The PVC/GN nanocomposites are good absorbers of electromagnetic waves in the
microwave band frequency up to 12 GHz.
Many exciting new technologies can be realized through the use of PVC/GN nanocomposites, extending the already extensive range of applications of dry phantom
for medical images, as absorbers in microwave imaging chamber at microwave
frequency.

Authors Note
The present research is a result of an international collaboration program between the
University of Tabuk, Tabuk, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the University of Chemical
Technology and Metallurgy, Sofia, Bulgaria.
Funding
This work was supported by the University of Tabuk, Tabuk, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
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