Honeycomb-Patterned Polyimide Film as a Versatile Coating for High-Performance Dielectric Material.

A honeycomb-patterned porous film was conveniently prepared by means of the microemulsion method and then used as an effective coating for improving the dielectric properties and water resistance of polyimide (PI) film while maintaining its mechanical properties. The dielectric properties could be regulated by tuning the structure of the porous film through controlling its formation conditions. When suitable conditions were used, the prepared composite PI film exhibited a significant reduction of 28.3 % in its dielectric constant and 9.48-54.99 % in dielectric loss accompanied by an extremely low water uptake of 0.62 % relative to the 2.47 % of flat PI film. The composite PI film also displayed excellent durability under moist conditions, as the dielectric constant was still below 2.4 after exposure to 75 % relative humidity for more than 12 h. This provides a novel method to improve and control the dielectric properties of materials. It also suggests that this film is a suitable candidate for coating dielectric materials in high-humidity environments.