Improvement of dielectric breakdown performance by surface modification in polyethylene/TiO₂ nanocomposites

Dielectric breakdown is a significant property for the insulation system in high voltage power equipment. This paper is dedicated to the improvement of dielectric breakdown by surface-functionalized nanoparticles in low-density polyethylene (LDPE). Prior to the preparation of LDPE/TiO₂ nanocomposites, the nanoparticles were surface modified by the silane coupling followed by the chemical reaction process. Results of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) indicated that some polar groups and chemical bonding were introduced on the surface of TiO₂ nanoparticles. A reduction of dielectric permittivity was observed at low nanoparticle loading ( < 2 wt%) samples, which responded to the restriction of the molecular chain in the interface region. High nanoparticle loadings (2 wt%, 5 wt%, 10 wt%) introduced an obvious relaxation polarization. The trap parameters detected by the thermally stimulated current (TSC) method indicated that the deep traps were introduced by small amounts of nanoparticles (≤2 wt%), while more shallow traps occurred in high loading (5 wt%, 10 wt%) samples. Meanwhile, the increase of breakdown strength at low loading samples were closely related to the deep traps, which was ascribed to the interface region by surface chemical modification.