Excellent Vacuum Pulsed Flashover Characteristics Achieved in Dielectric Insulators Functionalized by Electronegative Halogen–Phenyl and Naphthyl Groups

Abstract

Designing electrical insulation materials with excellent surface flashover strength in a vacuum environment is crucial for high-power equipment and aerospace devices. In the present paper, the effect of two types of electronegative groups, the halogen-phenyl groups and the aromatic π-conjugated naphthyl groups, is used to greatly improve the vacuum flashover characteristics of polystyrene (PS), a commonly used polymer dielectric material in high-power devices. By polymerization of the monomers containing these electronegative groups, the bulk insulation material as a whole is modified expediently. In comparison to the base polymer PS, the electron affinity of the structures containing strong electronegative groups is studied with first-principles calculations based on the density functional theory. The nanosecond pulsed vacuum flashover testing results show that the vacuum flashover strength is increased by 10% after replacing the PS pendant phenyl groups with fluorophenyl groups and increased by 44% when replaced with the naphthyl groups. Furthermore, the thermally stimulated current and secondary electron emission yield spectroscopies are measured, to study the influence of strong electronegative groups on the trapping characteristics and further the electron-emitting features of the polymer dielectrics, which are closely related to the charged particle multiplication process during the vacuum flashover. The results prove that introducing strong electronegative groups can inhibit the triggering of vacuum flashover, suppress the electron emission, delay the flashover process, and thus greatly increase the vacuum flashover voltage. The study of this paper not only puts forward two groups of easily processable polymers with excellent vacuum flashover strength but also paves ways for the future material design of special insulation polymers.