JMEPEG (2021) 30:1796–1807 ÓASM International

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-021-05488-8 1059-9495/$19.00

Enhancing Electrical, Thermal, and Mechanical Properties

of HV Cross-Linked Polyethylene Insulation Using Silica
Nanofillers
Abdel Rahman Said, Amira G. Nawar, A.E. Elsayed, M.A. Abd-Allah, and Samir Kamel

Submitted: 18 July 2020 / Revised: 15 December 2020 / Accepted: 12 January 2021 / Published online: 28 January 2021

Cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) is commonly used as insulation in power cables. In the last decades,
extensive researches were initiated to enhance its electrical, chemical, and mechanical properties. This
paper aimed to enhance the electrical, thermal, and mechanical properties of the commercial XLPE power
cables main insulation using nonfunctionalized and chemically functionalized silicon dioxide (SiO2)
nanoparticles. XLPE/SiO2 samples were synthesized using the melt blending method. The functionalization
process for SiO2 nanoparticles was carried out to decrease the agglomeration of nanoparticles and dis-
tribute it homogeneously inside the polymer matrix of XLPE. The samples were prepared by melt blending
of nonfunctionalized inorganic SiO2 nanoparticles denoted as ‘‘nonfunctionalized XLPE nanocomposites,’’
and the samples were prepared by melt blending of SiO2 functionalized inorganic nanoparticles denoted as
‘‘functionalized XLPE nanocomposites.’’ Firstly, the surface of SiO2 nanoparticles was activated using
methane sulfonic acid; then, the surface modification was performed using amino silane coupling agent.
XLPE/SiO2 nanocomposites were fabricated with different ratios of nanoparticles (0.5, 2, 3.5, and 5 wt.%).
The relative permittivity (er) and loss tangent (tan d) were measured in a frequency range from 1 Hz to
1 MHz. Thermal stability and mechanical properties for a nanocomposite were measured and discussed. It
was found that the functionalized nanocomposites have better dielectric, thermal, and mechanical prop-
erties compared with the nonfunctionalized SiO2 and XLPE.

Underground power cables are subjected to many types of

Keywords electrical, thermal and mechanical properties,
functionalized SiO2 nanoparticles, XLPE insulating
material, XLPE nanocomposite
1. Introduction
Polymer materials are widely used in electrical insulating
industry especially for underground cables since the early
twentieth century due to their superior dielectric properties such
as high dielectric strength, high insulation resistance, high
volume, and surface resistivity, reliability, availability, and low
cost (Ref 1). XLPE is an important modification of poly-
ethylene with permanently chemically cross-linked polymeric
chains. This cross-linking results in the formation of insoluble
and long polymer chains connected together which form three-
dimension networks. It is widely used in electrical insulating
materials, especially AC high-voltage power cables for many
years. XLPE cable has various important properties that make it
suitable for use in high voltage insulation purposes (Ref 2, 3).
Abdel Rahman Said and M.A. Abd-Allah, Electrical Engineering
Department, Faculty of Engineering, Benha University, Cairo 11629,
Egypt; Amira G. Nawar, Higher Institute for Engineering and Modern
Technology, Marg, Cairo, Egypt; A.E. Elsayed, Polymer and Pigment
Department, National Research Centre, 33 El-Bohouth. Dokki, Giza
12622, Egypt; Samir Kamel, Cellulose and Paper Department,
National Research Centre, 33 El-Bohouth St. Dokki, Giza 12622,
Egypt. Contact e-mail: eng_amira.2009@yahoo.com.
stresses during their operation that affects their insulating
properties by the time. Besides, humidity, heat, and mechanical
stress cause disfiguration in the electric field and partial
breakdown in insulating materials. On the other hand, the
insulating materials carbonize with a periodic application of
electric field at the region of sparking corresponding to partial
breakdown resulting in carbonized regions that act as perma-
nent conducting channels which increase the stress over this
region followed by treeing and total breakdown of the
insulation (Ref 4–6). Although XLPE polymer is considered
an adequate insulating material for the high voltage transmis-
sion of electrical power, there is still a need to further improve
its insulation properties. Therefore, there are many studies
focused on the concept of the composite to improve the
performance and properties of these materials (Ref 7).
In the previous decade, the fabrication of composite
materials using inorganic particles either micro-scaled or
nano-scaled has gained increased attention in many fields,
especially in power engineering (Ref 8–18). It is noticed that
the particle type, size, weight, surface, and the nanoparticle
content of the polymer nanocomposites play an important role
in its advantageous properties. Also, it is found that nanopar-
ticles size provides advantages over micro-size as they increase
the resistance to degradation and improve the thermo-mechan-
ical properties without decreasing the dielectric strength (Ref
5). Accordingly, nanocomposites technology has become an
important way of developing new insulation materials with
great advantages. These materials can withstand higher stresses
more than the unfilled ones. This is due to their singular
structures and the large surface area per unit volume of
nanoparticles (Ref 19, 20). To get this novelty, the nanoparticles

1796—Volume 30(3) March 2021 Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance

must distribute homogeneously inside polymeric matrices.
Good distribution can be achieved by chemical treatment
(functionalization) of nanoparticle surfaces using silane cou-
pling agents. Functionalization or treatment process converts
the hydrophilic (inorganic) character into a hydrophobic
(organic) character (Ref 21).
This paper aims to study the effect of incorporating
nonfunctionalized and functionalized SiO2 nanoparticles inside
the XLPE polymer matrix on its thermal, electrical, and
mechanical properties. Nanocomposites were synthesized using
an industrial method (melt blending method). The size of the
nanoparticles was measured using transmission electron micro-
scopy (TEM), and the surface morphology of the samples was
investigated using field emission scanning electron microscope
(FE-SEM) and x-ray diffraction analysis (XRD). The dielectric
properties include relative permittivity and dielectric losses
were measured at different ranges of frequencies and the
breakdown strength was also measured at AC voltages.
Mechanical properties, such as elongation and tensile strength,
were evaluated by performing tensile tests, and the thermal
properties were studied using thermogravimetric analysis
(TGA).
2. Materials and Experimental Techniques
2.1 Materials
CLNA-8141EHV is a cross-linkable low-density polyethy-
lene compound with an extremely low level of contamination
designed for insulation of extra high voltage power cables and
produced by HANWHA company, Korea. It was provided by
El-Sewedy Electric Co., Egypt. Silicon dioxide (SiO2) nanopar-
ticles were prepared from silica gel by charged it into a muffle
furnace at 900 °C for 5 h under atmospheric pressure condi-
tions. Methane sulfonic acid for surface activation of nanopar-
ticles with 98% purity was purchased from LOBA Chemie. The
coupling agent used here is Gamma-amino propyltriethoxy
silane abbreviated as ‘‘amino silane’’ with purity 99% which
was purchased from Momentive Inc.
2.2 Experimental Techniques
2.2.1 Functionalization of Nanoparticle Materials. The
surface treatment was carried out through two sequential steps.
The first step is called ‘‘surface activation’’ in which the surface
of the nanoparticles was activated with hydroxyl groups
through acid etching method. The second step is called
‘‘surface modification’’ at which the activated nanoparticles
were modified using amino silane as a coupling agent. In the
first step, 10 g of Nanosilica (NS) was stirred with 100 ml of
10% methane-sulfonic acid at 110 °C for 4 h. After that, the
powder was collected using Hitachi centrifuge at 1500 rpm for
5 min and washed several times with de-ionized water; then, it
was dried in a vacuum oven at 120 °C for 24 h.
In the second step, a 3 g of the activated nanoparticles was
added to 60 mL of toluene in a round flask for sonication in a
water bath sonicator (Elmasonic, S-60H) for 30 min at 70 °C
followed by stirring for 2 h at 500 rpm at 70 °C. A solution of
10% (wt/wt) of amino silane in toluene was added dropwise,
and the stirring process was continued for 8 h. Finally, the
functionalized silica nanoparticles were collected and washed
Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance
with isopropanol and dried in a vacuum oven at 120 °C, and
kept for 24 h for further characterization (Ref 22, 23).
2.2.2 Preparation of XLPE Nanocomposites. In this
study, the XLPE/SiO2 nanocomposites were prepared by the
melt blending method which is the masterbatch method in El-
Sewedy Egy-tech laboratory. Each nanocomposite formulation
consists of 150 g of XLPE pellets with different weights of
either functionalized or nonfunctionalized SiO2 nanoparticles
(0.5, 2, 3.5, and 5 wt.%). XLPE/SiO2 sheets, with dimension
20 9 20 cm and 1.05-2.3 mm thicknesses, were prepared as
follows:
XLPE pellets and the designated amount of NS were mixed
at 140 °C with 80 rpm for 15 min then annealed at 60 °C for
24 h. Using the two-roll mixer (Battaggion, MCC 150*300/R-
o), the mixture was blended in at 150 °C for 15 min, with 30
rpm. The sample was pressed at 160 °C under 200 bars for 20
min using GDB-Laboratory hot/cold press (Gibitre instruments
Co.) followed by boiling in water for 3-4 h and then left to cool
down slowly.
3. Characterization of Nanocomposites
The morphology and particle size were investigated using
high-resolution Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM),
model type is (JEOL-JEM-2100), and the images were taken
at an acceleration voltage of 120 kV. The surface morphology
of XLPE/SiO2 samples was studied using FE-SEM model type
(Quanta FEG 250, FEI-Inc.). The microscope was attached to
energy-dispersive x-ray analysis (EDX) unit. The XRD analysis
for tested samples was investigated on a Diano x-ray diffrac-
tometer using CoKa radiation source energized at 45 kV and
40 mA with CuK radiation source (k = 0.15418 nm). The
range of position angel (2h) is from 10° to 80°. The thermal
stability was tested by TGA device (Shimadzu DTG-60, Japan)
at a heating rate of 10 °C/min under argon at a temperature
range between 25 and 900 °C. The relative permittivity and the
loss factor were measured using Hioki 3532-50 LCR Hi Tester,
a frequency range of 1 Hz-1 MHz. The breakdown strength for
all samples was measured according to (ASTM D149-09),
using a sphere-to-sphere test cell energized from a test
transformer (400 V/250 kV, 50 Hz). The measuring setup is
modeled using a finite element method, and the distribution of
voltages and electric fields was determined in and around
different insulating samples. The mechanical properties such as
elongation and tensile strength were measured by applying the
tensile test using Plastic Micro-tensile Testing (ASTM D1708-
93 standards) at 25 °C.
4. Results and Discussion
4.1 TEM Specification of Silica Nanoparticles
By using TEM, the size of silica nanoparticles can be
accurately defined. Silicon dioxide (SiO2) nanoparticles aver-
age size was about 20 nm as shown in Fig. 1.
4.2 FE-SEM Micrographs of XLPE Nanocomposites
The surface morphology of the samples was analyzed using
FE-SEM which can describe the microstructure dispersion of
Volume 30(3) March 2021—1797
nanoparticles inside polymer chains. FE-SEM micrographs for
both cross-sectional area and the surface of all samples were
carried out. Figure 2 shows the FE-SEM micrographs for both
cross-sectional area and the surface of the XLPE without
nanoparticles.
Figure 3 and 4 shows the FE-SEM micrographs for cross-
sectional area and the surface of the two nanocomposites one
with nonfunctionalized (Fig. 3) and the other with functional-
ized SiO2 (Fig. 4). It is clear that there are some aggregates of
Fig. 1 TEM micrographs of SiO2 nanoparticles
Fig. 2 FE-SEM micrographs: (a) cross-sectional area, and (b) surface of the XLPE without nanoparticles
Fig. 3 FE-SEM micrographs of (a) cross-sectional area and (b) surface of 0.5 wt.% SiO2 nonfunctionalized nanocomposites
1798—Volume 30(3) March 2021
SiO2 nanoparticles with few micrometers in size within the
nonfunctionalized XLPE/SiO2 sample, but in case of function-
alized XLPE/SiO2 sample there is a good dispersion and
homogenous distribution for the SiO2 nanoparticles in the
composite that is due to the chemical functionalization process
of the SiO2 nanoparticles surface leading to strong interactions
between nanoparticles and XLPE matrix. Figure 4 clearly
shows that the SiO2 nanofillers are well dispersed inside the
XLPE polymer matrix. The dispersion shown indicates the
compatibility between the nanofiller surface and the polymer
matrix. In addition, it indicates the proper processing method
used for the sample preparation. Moreover, the nanofillers are
highlighted and the corresponding size is mentioned. EDAX
analysis results of XLPE/SiO2 nanocomposites are shown in
Fig. 4(c)
4.3 X-Ray Diffraction Analysis (XRD)
The x-ray diffraction analysis was performed for tested
samples to identify different phases formed during the prepa-
ration process and to discuss the surface morphology of the
samples. XRD of XLPE is displayed in Fig. 5(a), and it is seen
that amorphous hallo and two major crystalline peaks at
2h = 21.40° (d (interplanar distance) = 4.15112 Å) and
2h = 24.06° (d = 3.777 Å) were observed (Ref 24). Other
small peaks can be observed also as shown in the figure. The
major crystalline peaks at 2h = 21.40 and 24.06° did not
Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance
Fig. 4 (a) FE-SEM micrographs of cross-sectional area, (b) FE-SEM micrographs of surface, and (c) EDAX analysis results of 0.5 wt.% SiO2
functionalized nanocomposites

change by the addition of SiO2 to XLPE with small changes in

the interplanar spacing which recorded a value, not more than
(0.006-0.01 Å) with an additional two peaks at 2h = 38.148°
(d = 2.35913 Å) and 38.1199° (d = 2.36080 Å) in case of
nonfunctionalized and functionalized SiO2, respectively, which
represents of crystallization of SiO2 nanoparticles inside the
polymer matrix (Fig. 5b, c). It is concluded that the function-
alization process has no effect on phase composition and it
indicates that the degree of crystallinity did not change also.

4.4 Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA)

TGA technique is used to investigate the rate of weight
changes of the tested samples with temperature. The onset of
time or temperature of the initial weight loss can be considered
as a loss of volatiles, absorbed water, or lower molecular weight
constituents. The onset of irreversible weight loss could suggest
the real thermal degradations (Ref 25). In this study, the weight
loss at 300, 400, and 475 °C (decomposition temperature) is the
main criteria used to indicate the thermal stability of nanocom-
posites. The higher the values of decomposition temperatures,
the higher the thermal stability of the nanocomposites will be
(Ref 26).
From Fig. 6 and Table 1, it is seen that the weight loss of
XLPE was 0.83, 1.99, and 62.9% at 300, 400, and 475 °C. It
means that its rate of loss decreased with increasing temper-
ature. By the addition of nonfunctionalized and functionalized Fig. 5 X-ray diffraction patterns of: (a) XLPE, (b) nanocomposites
SiO2 nanoparticles, the weight loss decreased at 300 and with nonfunctionalized SiO2 and (c) nanocomposites with
functionalized SiO2

Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance Volume 30(3) March 2021—1799

Fig. 6 TGA analysis of: (a) XLPE (b) nanocomposite with nonfunctionalized SiO2 and (c) nanocomposite with functionalized SiO2

Table 1 Weight loss and decomposition temperatures of XLPE and XLPE/SiO2 nanocomposites
Weight loss, %

Sample 300 °C 400 °C 475 °C Decomposition temperature, °C

XLPE 0.83 1.99 62.9 475.28

Nonfunctionalized XLPE/SiO2 0.64 1.44 64.01 474.6
Functionalized XLPE/SiO2 0.75 1.64 50.87 479.6

1800—Volume 30(3) March 2021 Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance

Fig. 7 (a) Relative permittivity and (b) dielectric loss for XLPE and nonfunctionalized XLPE/SiO2 nanocomposites
400 °C while increased at 475 °C. The decomposition temper-
ature decreased with nonfunctionalized SiO2 and increased with
functionalized SiO2. This means that the thermal stability of
XLPE was improved with the addition of SiO2 nanoparticles
and that is due to the higher thermal resistance of the inorganic
filler which has an onset temperature of 580 °C (Ref 27–30).
4.5 Dielectric Properties of XLPE Nanocomposites
The important dielectric properties were measured are the
relative permittivity, dielectric loss (tan d), and the dielectric
strength. These three parameters measure the quality of the
dielectric material used as insulation in HV applications.
4.5.1 Relative Permittivity and Dielectric Loss. The
relative permittivity and the dielectric loss of the nonfunction-
alized and amino-functionalized XLPE/SiO2 nanocomposites
samples were investigated. Figure 7 and 8 shows the variation
in relative permittivity (er) and dielectric loss (tan d) of neat
XLPE and XLPE/SiO2 nonfunctionalized and functionalized
nanocomposites with different addition of nanoparticles at a
wide range of frequencies.
Figure 7(a) and 8(a) shows that the values of permittivity of
the nanocomposites are varied with the concentration of SiO2
Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance
and XLPE/SiO2 sample with 2 wt.% NS has the lowest er
values, especially with the functionalized sample, which
decreases by about 4.12 % at power frequency 50 Hz. This
can be explained as follows, the good incorporation and
dispersion of functionalized SiO2 nanoparticles contributed to
restricting the mobility of XLPE polymer chain which means
that the functionalization of SiO2 nanoparticles enhanced the
compatibility with the polymeric material (Ref 8, 9).
Also, it is obvious that both XLPE/SiO2 nonfunctionalized
and amino-functionalized nanocomposites with 5 wt.% NS
have higher er values than both neat XLPE since they increased
by 6.87% and 4.467 %, respectively, at power frequency 50 Hz.
This increase may be due to the reduction in the interface
interaction area between the polymer matrix and nanoparticles
that results from nanoparticle agglomeration.
Figure 7(b) and 8(b) shows curves of dielectric loss, tan d,
versus frequencies for different concentration of SiO2
nanocomposites. It is seen that all samples have relatively high
tan d values at low frequencies, and this is may be attributed to
the high leakage current in the test system.
At the same time, it can be noticed that tan d of all XLPE/
SiO2 samples recorded lower values than neat XLPE specimen.
Volume 30(3) March 2021—1801
Fig. 8 (a) Relative permittivity and (b) dielectric loss for XLPE and amino-functionalized XLPE/SiO2 nanocomposites

Table 2 Relative permittivity and loss factor of XLPE 4.5.2 AC Breakdown Strength (AC-BDS). The AC-
and XLPE/SiO2 nanocomposites BDS of XLPE/SiO2 nanocomposites were measured. The test
Relative Loss factor was carried out five times for each sample; then, the average
permittivity (er) (tan d) values were considered. Table 3 shows the average measured
Sample wt.% values of AC breakdown strength of functionalized XLPE/SiO2
and the nonfunctionalized XLPE/SiO2 and the percentage of
XLPE 0 2.91 0.0113 enhancement. The table shows that the average measured
Nonfunctionalized 0.5 2.91 0.00626
values of AC breakdown strength of functionalized XLPE/SiO2
XLPE/SiO2 2 3.03 0.00421
3.5 3.2 0.00461
nanocomposites are higher than the values of nonfunctionalized
5 3.11 0.0107 ones. This is due to the origination of a strong interfacial area
Functionalized XLPE/ 0.5 2.81 0.00336 between nanoparticles and the polymeric chains. In addition, by
SiO2 2 2.79 0.00363 increasing the addition fraction of nanofiller, the AC-BDS is
3.5 2.93 0.00201 increased; except at weight fractions of 3.5 wt.% NS and
5 3.04 0.0015 5 wt.% NS of SiO2 nanoparticles, the AC-BDS began to
reduce. The addition of SiO2 into the XLPE matrix can increase
Also, the amino-functionalized XLPE/SiO2 samples have lower the AC-BDS, while with a high concentration of nanoparticles
values of tan d than nonfunctionalized ones at frequencies up to a lot of agglomeration may be produced and cause a reduction
1000 Hz. From Table 2, it is clear that at 50 Hz tan d for in AC-BDS. Moreover, the maximum measured values of AC-
5 wt.% NS nonfunctionalized SiO2/XLPE sample is reduced by BDS happened in the samples of XLPE/SiO2 with 0.5 and
5.31% over neat XLPE sample which considers the lowest 2 wt.% amino-functionalized SiO2 nanocomposites as shown in
improvement case. At the same time, tan d at 5 wt.% NS Fig. 9, which are enhanced by 25.08% and 29.6%, respectively,
amino-functionalized SiO2/XLPE sample is reduced by 86.76% over neat XLPE. Otherwise, for nonfunctionalized samples, the
which shows a great improvement. highest enhancement is happened also at 0.5 wt.% NS which
increased by 4.29% compared with neat XLPE.

1802—Volume 30(3) March 2021 Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance

Table 3 Measured and simulated rms values of breakdown strength for XLPE/SiO2 samples at sphere–sphere field
Sample wt.% Breakdown strength, kV/mm
XLPE 0 31.23
Nonfunctionalized (XLPE/SiO2) 0.5 32.57
2 32
3.5 30.454
5 30.303
Functionalized (XLPE/SiO2) 0.5 39.0625
2 40.476
3.5 38.173
5 36.8
Fig. 9 AC-BDS rms values of XLPE/SiO2 nanocomposites
The AC-BDS was obtained using a simulation model on
Femm package, which uses the finite element method in a 2-
dimensional pattern (i.e., an axisymmetric form). The voltage
applied to the upper sphere is the breakdown voltage taken
from the experimental result, and the lower sphere is grounded.
The voltage and electric field distribution inside and around the
samples are traced and evaluated. The breakdown strength at
the tipping point of the HV sphere is recorded in Table 3 in case
of XLPE/nonfunctionalized SiO2 and XLPE/amino-functional-
ized SiO2 nanocomposites. The electric potential and electro-
static field distribution in and around the sample are shown in
Fig. 10(a) and (b) for XLPE nanocomposite with 2 wt.% NS
amino-functionalized nanoparticles. It is shown that there is a
high agreement between the measured and the simulated
results, where the maximum enhancement of simulation results
occurred at 2 wt.% amino-functionalized XLPE/SiO2 sample.
4.6 Mechanical Properties
Tensile strength and elongation level measurement was
carried for neat XLPE and XLPE with nonfunctionalized and
functionalized SiO2 nanoparticles at different wt.%. The tensile
test was carried out three times for each sample. The stress–
strain behavior of the tested samples is shown in Fig. 11. All the
samples show a linear elastic behavior followed by inelastic
plastic deformation. Figure 12 shows the tensile strength of neat
XLPE and XLPE nanocomposites as a function of filler
Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance
Improvement, % Simulated breakdown strength, kV/mm
0 32.64
4.29 33.6
2.47 32.97
2.48 32.01
2.97 31.6
25.08 40.25
29.60 42
22.23 40.08
17.84 38.468
loading. The tensile strength and the elongation level for neat
XLPE are 10 MPa and 584, respectively. It can be seen from
the plots that the addition of NS particles to the XLPE polymer
decreased the values of strain and increased the values of stress.
This is because the presence of nanoparticles within the
polymer matrix causes a restriction in the mobility of the
polymer chains, which in turn reduces the elongation of the
sample but enhances its tensile strength (Ref 31).
For nonfunctionalized XLPE/SiO2 nanocomposites, Fig. 12
shows that the tensile strength is maximum at 0.5 wt.% than
any other compositions; then, with increasing the wt%
additions of NS particles the tensile strength decreases reaching
8.4 MPa at 5 wt.% NS and 30 in elongation. This behavior can
be explained as follows: the increase in the tensile strength with
low loading% of nonfunctionalized SiO2 is attributed to their
high specific surface available for interaction with the polymer
matrix. But with a high loading% of nonfunctionalized SiO2,
the NS particles agglomerates, these agglomerated nanoparti-
cles act as large voids in the tested sheet which make the
molecular chains moving freely and facilitate the polymer
chains mobility resulting in the polymer chains slipping past
one another (Ref 8).
For functionalized XLPE/SiO2 nanocomposites, it can be
ascertained that the tensile strength is maximum at 5 wt.%
addition of NS which reaches 14.6 MPa and the elongation
value was 556; then, with decreasing the wt.% additions of NS
Volume 30(3) March 2021—1803
Fig. 10 (a) AC potential distribution around the sphere electrode and along with sample thickness, (b) electrostatic field distribution inside
2% wt. XLPE/amino-functionalized SiO2 nanocomposite for the sphere-to-sphere configuration
the tensile strength decreases reaching 11.7 MPa at 0.5 wt.%
NS, with elongation 477. When compared to neat XLPE,
5 wt.% of functionalized NS sample has more tensile strength
which means more improvement in the mechanical properties.
This behavior can be explained as follows: with using
functionalized SiO2, the surface modification of the nanopar-
ticles with amino silane coupling agent leads to good dispersion
of NS particles inside XLPE polymer resulting in an interfacial
adhesion between the SiO2 nanoparticles and XLPE polymeric
chains and holding the polymer chains firmly and restricted.
Good dispersion of NS particles also will increase the specific
surface available for interactions with the polymer matrix and
enhance the mechanical properties by increasing the loading%
of functionalized SiO2 (Ref 31, 32). Also, the reduction in
elongation values with the addition of nanofiller is expected for
polymer nanocomposites because of the restriction of the
mobility of chains created from the bonding between nanopar-
ticles and polymer chain (Ref 33, 34).
1804—Volume 30(3) March 2021
5. Conclusion
The addition of inorganic nanoparticles into the XLPE
matrix enhanced the electrical, thermal, and mechanical
properties of XLPE. The functionalization of nanoparticles
leads to an excellent dispersion within polymer chains. An
improvement in relative permittivity and loss tangent, where
the loss tangents for all XLPE/SiO2 nanocomposites were lower
than that of the neat XLPE. Larger values of dielectric loss are
in the low-frequency area, which indicates the interface
polarization in XLPE nanocomposites. The breakdown strength
of the functionalized nanocomposites was higher than that of
the neat XLPE. As the percentage weight of nanoparticles
increased, the interparticle distance decreases, which leads to a
hindrance in charge carriers transferring and create a strong
bond, which resulted in increasing the dielectric strength.
However, it is noticed that more addition of SiO2 nanoparticles
decreases the dielectric strength and that is maybe due to the
high concentration of nanoparticles leading to more agglom-
eration causing much reduction in AC-BDS.
Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance
Fig. 11 Stress–strain characteristic of (a) neat XLPE, (b) nonfunctionalized SiO2 nanocomposites, and (c) functionalized SiO2 nanocomposites
at 25 °C.

Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance Volume 30(3) March 2021—1805

Fig. 12 (a) Tensile strength and (b) elongation of nonfunctionalized and functionalized SiO2/XLPE nanocomposites with different wt.%
additions of NS weight ratios
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Volume 30(3) March 2021—1807