Wettability Behavior of XLPE Nanocomposite with Surface Modified Nanofiller

Abstract

Advanced polymer materials typically is used as an insulator in the electrical cable, especially in medium and high voltage applications. Cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) is preferred due to its excellent insulation character despite its deficiency on the higher water absorption ability by the composite has exposed the material toward electrical treeing forming and shorten the lifetime of the material against electrical charges. The intention of this study is to observe the surface free energy and wetting behaviour of XLPE with the combination of surface modified nanosilica and nanoclay by using contact angle assessment with water and methylene iodide as the solvents. The analysis shows that the incorporation of organoclay with XLPE has a greater non-wetting behaviour up to 5 wt % of nanoclay, as well as a decreasing pattern of the surface free energy by 36% compared to the neat XLPE system. Results of the study suggest that the improvement on the hydrophobicity of the nanocomposites is contributed by the microstructure development, in which the latter is also related to the dielectric response enhancement.