TY - JOUR
T1 - On the Silica Surface Modification and Its Effect on Charge Trapping and Transport in PP-Based Dielectric Nanocomposites
AU - Mahtabani, Amirhossein
AU - Rytöluoto, Ilkka
AU - Anyszka, Rafal
AU - He, Xiaozhen
AU - Saarimäki, Eetta
AU - Lahti, Kari
AU - Paajanen, Mika
AU - Dierkes, Wilma
AU - Blume, Anke
N1 - Funding Information:
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement no. 720858.
Funding Information:
The authors would like to thank the ECIU Researcher Mobility Fund for supporting this research work, Evonik Industries for providing the silica, and Dave Breen and Niels ter Weele for analyzing the SEM images with ImageJ.
Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2020 American Chemical Society
PY - 2020/8/14
Y1 - 2020/8/14
N2 - The effect of filler surface functionalization with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) on the charge trapping and transport was studied in polypropylene (PP)/(ethylene-octene) copolymer (EOC)/silica nanodielectrics. Different reaction conditions were utilized for silica functionalization to alter the deposited layer morphology. This approach made it possible to engineer the filler-polymer interface to achieve optimized dielectric properties for the nanocomposites. The successful chemical modification of the silica surface was confirmed via thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Subsequently, the effect of the engineered filler-polymer interface on the nanocomposites’ crystallinity was analyzed with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was utilized to observe the morphology of the nanocomposite as well as the silica dispersion. Finally, the effect of the silica functionalization on the dielectric properties of PP/EOC/silica nanocomposites was tested via thermally stimulated depolarization current (TSDC) and broadband dielectric spectroscopy (BDS). The results suggested that the presence of the amine functionality on the silica reduces interfacial losses in nanocomposites, and hinders further injection of space charge by introducing deep trap states at the filler-polymer interface. Under certain conditions, APTES can form an “island-like” morphology on the silica surface. These islands can facilitate nucleation, inducing transcrystallization at the filler-polymer interface. The island-like structures present on the silica would further contribute to the induction of deep traps at the filler-polymer interface resulting in the reduction of space charge injection.
AB - The effect of filler surface functionalization with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) on the charge trapping and transport was studied in polypropylene (PP)/(ethylene-octene) copolymer (EOC)/silica nanodielectrics. Different reaction conditions were utilized for silica functionalization to alter the deposited layer morphology. This approach made it possible to engineer the filler-polymer interface to achieve optimized dielectric properties for the nanocomposites. The successful chemical modification of the silica surface was confirmed via thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Subsequently, the effect of the engineered filler-polymer interface on the nanocomposites’ crystallinity was analyzed with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was utilized to observe the morphology of the nanocomposite as well as the silica dispersion. Finally, the effect of the silica functionalization on the dielectric properties of PP/EOC/silica nanocomposites was tested via thermally stimulated depolarization current (TSDC) and broadband dielectric spectroscopy (BDS). The results suggested that the presence of the amine functionality on the silica reduces interfacial losses in nanocomposites, and hinders further injection of space charge by introducing deep trap states at the filler-polymer interface. Under certain conditions, APTES can form an “island-like” morphology on the silica surface. These islands can facilitate nucleation, inducing transcrystallization at the filler-polymer interface. The island-like structures present on the silica would further contribute to the induction of deep traps at the filler-polymer interface resulting in the reduction of space charge injection.
KW - dielectric properties
KW - HVDC
KW - PP-based nanodielectrics
KW - silica surface modification
KW - space charge
KW - TSDC
KW - UT-Hybrid-D
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85092296932&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1021/acsapm.0c00349
DO - 10.1021/acsapm.0c00349
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85092296932
SN - 2637-6105
VL - 2
SP - 3148
EP - 3160
JO - ACS Applied Polymer Materials
JF - ACS Applied Polymer Materials
IS - 8
ER -