Improved Flashover Characteristics of Surface Modified Epoxy by Ion Beam Treatment

Surface-modified polymer dielectrics can effectively improve the flashover characteristics of the future dielectrics used in high voltage DC applications. This work is conducted to enhance the DC flashover characteristics of epoxy resin using ion beam treatment with varying treatment durations e.g. 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 min. The DC flashover voltage of epoxy resin increases with increasing the treatment duration to 20 min, then starts to decrease. This might be due to the severe damage to the physical structure of the epoxy resin or due to the increase in the degree of cross-linking at long-duration treatment. Moreover, scanning electron microscopy is used to analyze the morphological properties of epoxy resin before and after treatment. Furthermore, Fourier transforms infrared (FT-IR) spectrum depicted the presence of carbonyl-containing products in modified samples. The results from Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis show that the content of oxygen and carbon elements are enhanced in treated epoxy. Furthermore, the sputtering caused by ion treatment induces physical vacancies and defects in treated epoxy which acts as shallow surface traps and accelerates the surface charge dissipation, consequently enhancing flashover voltage.