Insight into the investigation of applying MXene nanoparticles to enhance the properties of transformer oil

Abstract

Transformer oil is a refined electrical insulating oil that is widely used in power transformers and power distribution systems. The most important property of these oils is their dielectric properties, the reduction of which leads to a decrease in the lifespan of transformers. Nanofluids have a wide role in improving the properties of liquids in industrial applications. In this paper, MXene is a novel two-dimensional nanomaterial with unique properties which is added to the oil transformer to prepare a nanofluid. The Ti3AlC2 MAX phase was first synthesized from primary materials (Ti, Al, TiC), Ti3C2Tx MXenes were prepared by etching Al from Ti3AlC2 and then the MAX phases were exfoliated using hydrofluoric acid (HF) in high concentrations. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) techniques, Raman spectroscopy and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) confirmed that Ti3AlC2 and Ti3C2Tx were appropriately synthesized. MXene with different concentrations (0.01–0.1 wt%) was added to the used transformer oil. The results demonstrated that MXene increased the breakdown voltage, Tg delta, resistivity and relative permeability, by 31.7 %, 95.13 %, 85.15 % and 74.2 %, respectively. The study confirmed that the addition of MXene improved the dielectric properties of the transformer oil, resulting in the improved performance and stability of the transformer.