DC conduction and electrical breakdown of MgO/LDPE nanocomposite

To understand basic electric properties of nano-sized magnesium oxide (MgO)/low-density polyethylene (LDPE) nanocomposite under DC voltage application, the volume resistivity, the space charge distribution and the breakdown strength were investigated. By the addition of nanosized MgO filler, both the DC breakdown strength and the volume resistivity of LDPE increased. At the average DC electric field of about 85 kV/mm and more, a positive packet space charge was observed in LDPE without MgO nano-filler, whereas a little homogeneous space charge was observed in MgO/LDPE nanocomposite material at the front of electrode. From these results, it is confirmed that the addition of MgO nano-filler leads to the improvement of DC electrical insulating properties of LDPE.