Influence of hydrophilic and hydrophobic silica nanofillers on the resistance to high voltage arcing of silicone nanocomposites

In the present study polymer-filler interactions and their influence on the resistance to high voltage arcing of silica filled silicone elastomers are investigated. All of our filler materials, hydrophobic and hydrophilic silica nanofillers and aluminium hydroxide microfillers (ATH) enhance the high voltage arcing time, compared to the unfilled material, particularly at a filler content Phi = 30 wt.-%. Beyond that, the composites with hydrophilic particles show a significant increase for small Phi. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were used to study the size, dispersion, and the chemical interactions between polymer chains and the particle surfaces. These experiments indicate that attractive interactions in case of hydrophilic…