Investigating the influence of plasma-treated SiO2 nanofillers on the electrical treeing performance of silicone-rubber

Abstract

This study presents an investigation of electrical tree performance as well as the effect of filler concentration of silicone rubber (SiR) filled with atmospheric-pressure plasma-treated silicon dioxide (SiO2) nanofiller. Atmospheric-pressure plasma was used to treat the SiO2 nanofiller surfaces to enhance compatibility with SiR matrices. A fixed AC voltage of 10 kV, 50 Hz was applied to untreated, silane-treated, and plasma-treated nanocomposites with filler concentrations of 1,3, and 5 wt % to investigate their electrical performance during electrical treeing. The result showed that plasma-treated SiO2 nanoparticles were uniformly well dispersed and formed strong covalent bonds with the molecules of the SiR polymer matrix. The plasma-treated nanocomposites were able to resist the electrical treeing better than the untreated or silane-treated nanocomposites. The increase in filler concentration enhanced the electrical tree performances of the nanocomposites. The result from this study reveals that the plasma-treated nanocomposites exhibited the best result in inhibiting the growth of electrical treeing compared to the existing surface treatment methods used in this study.