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Moisture absorption behavior in silicon nitride epoxy nanocomposites

Moisture absorption behavior in silicon nitride epoxy nanocomposites
Moisture absorption behavior in silicon nitride epoxy nanocomposites

The kinetics of moisture uptake was investigated for both unfilled and nanofilled epoxy networks. The results indicate that the addition of silicon nitride nanofiller, which is covered by amine groups, increases the equilibrium water uptake but does not change the diffusion coefficient, as was observed for a hardener (amine)-rich unfilled sample. This behavior was explained by impediment of water diffusion by the particles. Comparing the dielectric spectra of the dry and wet samples suggests that the absorbed water has no significant effect on the dielectric spectra at frequencies > 10 Hz. At lower frequencies, the water increases the DC conductivity and the imaginary part of the relative permittivity. It is though that the reaction between the amine groups on the surface of the particles and the epoxy groups redistributes the amine content and, consequently, the absorbed water to the whole matrix. This might prevent the water from accumulating around the nanoparticles and producing a mid/high-frequency relaxation as reported in similar systems.

electrical performance, epoxy, nanodielectrics, silicon nitride, water absorption
471-474
IEEE
Alhabill, F. N.
253d8162-b329-46cc-ace6-5e39a8caca33
Andritsch, T.
8681e640-e584-424e-a1f1-0d8b713de01c
Vaughan, A. S.
6d813b66-17f9-4864-9763-25a6d659d8a3
Alhabill, F. N.
253d8162-b329-46cc-ace6-5e39a8caca33
Andritsch, T.
8681e640-e584-424e-a1f1-0d8b713de01c
Vaughan, A. S.
6d813b66-17f9-4864-9763-25a6d659d8a3

Alhabill, F. N., Andritsch, T. and Vaughan, A. S. (2017) Moisture absorption behavior in silicon nitride epoxy nanocomposites. In 2017 IEEE Electrical Insulation Conference, EIC 2017. IEEE. pp. 471-474 . (doi:10.1109/EIC.2017.8004638).

Record type: Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)

Abstract

The kinetics of moisture uptake was investigated for both unfilled and nanofilled epoxy networks. The results indicate that the addition of silicon nitride nanofiller, which is covered by amine groups, increases the equilibrium water uptake but does not change the diffusion coefficient, as was observed for a hardener (amine)-rich unfilled sample. This behavior was explained by impediment of water diffusion by the particles. Comparing the dielectric spectra of the dry and wet samples suggests that the absorbed water has no significant effect on the dielectric spectra at frequencies > 10 Hz. At lower frequencies, the water increases the DC conductivity and the imaginary part of the relative permittivity. It is though that the reaction between the amine groups on the surface of the particles and the epoxy groups redistributes the amine content and, consequently, the absorbed water to the whole matrix. This might prevent the water from accumulating around the nanoparticles and producing a mid/high-frequency relaxation as reported in similar systems.

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More information

Published date: 8 August 2017
Additional Information: Publisher Copyright: © 2017 IEEE.
Venue - Dates: 35th IEEE Electrical Insulation Conference, EIC 2017, , Baltimore, United States, 2017-06-11 - 2017-06-14
Keywords: electrical performance, epoxy, nanodielectrics, silicon nitride, water absorption

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 509914
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/509914
PURE UUID: bc9b20ba-ba57-470e-811e-81c9683ab0b0
ORCID for T. Andritsch: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-3462-022X
ORCID for A. S. Vaughan: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-0535-513X

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Date deposited: 10 Mar 2026 17:57
Last modified: 11 Mar 2026 02:46

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Contributors

Author: F. N. Alhabill
Author: T. Andritsch ORCID iD
Author: A. S. Vaughan ORCID iD

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