Electrical Properties of <scp>PVAc</scp> /Cellulose Nanocrystal Nanocomposites: Charge Transport Mechanisms and Theoretical Modeling

ABSTRACT The electrical properties of polyvinyl acetate (PVAc) nanocomposites reinforced with cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) were investigated using dielectric spectroscopy over a frequency range of 0.1 Hz–1 MHz and temperatures from 233 to 403 K. AC conductivity exhibited a strong dependence on temperature, consistent with Jonscher's power law. Analysis of the frequency exponent s revealed a transition in charge transport mechanisms: s decreased from 303 K to 343 K, aligning with the correlated barrier hopping (CBH) model, and increased from 353 K to 403 K, consistent with the non‐overlapping small polaron tunneling (NSPT) model. Key electrical parameters, including hopping/tunneling distance () and polaron hopping energy (), were determined. The improved CBH and NSPT models provided a better fit to the experimental data and offered insights into the conduction mechanisms in CNC‐reinforced PVAc nanocomposites. The PVAc‐3CNC nanocomposite shows the lowest binding energy ( W m = 0.011 eV).