Effects of alkyl/vinyl-modified nanosilicas on negative or positive high voltage direct current breakdown strength and tensile properties in silicone rubber nanocomposites

To develop silicone/nanosilica insulation materials for high voltage direct current (HVDC), hydrophilic surface of fumed nanosilica was changed to hydrophobic by modifying with various ratios of alkylsilane and alkylsilane/vinylsilane coupling agents and the effects of the modified nanosilicas on the HVDC breakdown strength under negative or positive polarities were studied. Dielectric and tensile properties were also studied. The surface modification was confirmed by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) analysis and the weights of the alkyl and alkyl/vinyl groups on the modified nanosilicas were measured by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Silicone rubber nanocomposites were prepared by mixing a liquid silicone rubber (LSR) and the modified nanosilicas, in which the mixing ratio of the LSR to the nanosilicas was fixed to be 20 wt%. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was used to observe the even dispersion of the nanosilica particles in the LSR matrix, and it was found that the surface-modified nanosilicas were well dispersed in the form of nano-clusters with 20–60 nm in size. Electrical properties (±HVDC breakdown strength and dielectric properties) and mechanical properties (tensile strength and elongation-at-break) were estimated, and it was found that ±HVDC breakdown strength and tensile strength were maximal when the surface modification ratio of alkyl: alkyl/vinyl groups was 50: 50 wt%.