TY - JOUR A1 - He, Yushuang A1 - Wang, Feipeng A1 - He, Li A1 - Wang, Qiang A1 - Li, Jian A1 - Qian, Yihua A1 - Gerhard, Reimund A1 - Plath, Ronald T1 - An insight Into the role of Nano-Alumina on DC Flashover-Resistance and surface charge variation of Epoxy Nanocomposites JF - IEEE transactions on dielectrics and electrical insulation N2 - The addition of nano-Al2O3 has been shown to enhance the breakdown voltage of epoxy resin, but its flashover results appeared with disputation. This work concentrates on the surface charge variation and dc flashover performance of epoxy resin with nano-Al2O3 doping. The dispersion of nano-Al2O3 in epoxy is characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The dc flashover voltages of samples under either positive or negative polarity are measured with a finger-electrode system, and the surface charge variations before and after flashovers were identified from the surface potential mapping. The results evidence that nano-Al2O3 would lead to a 16.9% voltage drop for the negative flashovers and a 6.8% drop for positive cases. It is found that one-time flashover clears most of the accumulated surface charges, regardless of positive or negative. As a result, the ground electrode is neighbored by an equipotential zone enclosed with low-density heterocharges. The equipotential zone tends to be broadened after 20 flashovers. The nano-Al2O3 is noticed as beneficial to downsize the equipotential zone due to its capability on charge migration, which is reasonable to maintain flashover voltage at a high level after multiple flashovers. Hence, nano-Al2O3 plays a significant role in improving epoxy with high resistance to multiple flashovers. KW - surface morphology KW - Epoxy resins KW - Electric potential KW - Surface treatment KW - Doping KW - Epoxy resin KW - multiple KW - flashover KW - nanocomposite KW - surface charge Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1109/TDEI.2022.3173510 SN - 1070-9878 SN - 1558-4135 VL - 29 IS - 3 SP - 1022 EP - 1029 PB - Inst. of Electr. and Electronics Engineers CY - Piscataway ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wang, Feipeng A1 - Zhang, Zheng A1 - Yan, Yuyang A1 - Shen, Zijia A1 - Wang, Qiang A1 - Gerhard, Reimund T1 - Surface reconstruction on electro-spun PVA/PVP nanofibers by water evaporation JF - Nanomaterials N2 - Tailoring the secondary surface morphology of electro-spun nanofibers has been highly desired, as such delicate structures equip nanofibers with distinct functions. Here, we report a simple strategy to directly reconstruct the surface of polyvinyl alcohol/polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVA/PVP) nanofibers by water evaporation. The roughness and diameter of the nanofibers depend on the temperature during vacuum drying. Surface changes of the nanofibers from smooth to rough were observed at 55 degrees C, with a significant drop in nanofiber diameter. We attribute the formation of the secondary surface morphology to the intermolecular forces in the water vapor, including capillary and the compression forces, on the basis of the results from the Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron (XPS) spectroscopy. The strategy is universally effective for various electro-spun polymer nanofibers, thus opening up avenues toward more detailed and sophisticated structure design and implementation for nanofibers. KW - surface reconstruction KW - intermolecular force KW - surface-roughened KW - nanofiber Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12050797 SN - 2079-4991 VL - 12 IS - 5 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER -