Enhanced mechanical and dielectric properties of lignocellulosic composite papers with biomimetic multilayered structure and multiple hydrogen-bonding interactions

Abstract

Lignocellulosic papers (LCP) are favored for electrical insulating applications due to their environmental friendliness, ease of processing, and cost-effectiveness. However, the loose structure and numerous pores inside LCP result in the poor mechanical and electrical insulating properties, posing challenges in meeting the requirements for the rapid upgrading of high-voltage electrical equipment. Herein, a 3D interconnective structure composed of 3D aramid nanofibers (ANF) and 2D carbonylated basalt nanosheets (CBSNs) is introduced to enhance the structure and the chemical bonding interactions of LCP. This is achieved by impregnating LCP into an ANF-CBSNs suspension, where the 3D interconnective ANF framework hosts numerous CBSNs. The resultant LCP/ANF-CBSNs (LCP/A-C) composite papers exhibit multilayered structure and multiple hydrogen-bonding interactions, demonstrating excellent mechanical and electrical insulating properties. Notably, the optimized LCP/A-C5 composite papers exhibit remarkable tensile strength (23.15 MPa) and dielectric breakdown strength (20.14 kV·mm−1), respectively, representing 229 % and 145 % increase compared to those of the control LCP. These impressive properties are integrated with excellent bending ability, outstanding high temperature resistance, exceptional volume resistivity, and low dielectric constant and loss, demonstrating their potential as highly promising electrical insulating papers for advanced high-power electrical equipment.