Department of Chemistry and Polymer Science

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Browsing Department of Chemistry and Polymer Science by Author "Abraham Berhane, Teclesenbet"

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    Degradation and recovery of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) based composites used as high voltage insulators
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2004-12) Abraham Berhane, Teclesenbet; Mallon, P. E.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Science. Dept. of Chemistry & Polymer Science.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) compounds are utilized in outdoor high voltage insulation due to their low weight, vandalism resistance, better anti-contamination performance and their superior hydrophobic nature. Under severe environmental conditions and over prolonged service time, however, the hydrophobic surface can gradually become hydrophilic and then recover with adequate resting period. In this study, room temperature vulcanized (RTV) PDMS samples were prepared with different formulations and then exposed to corona discharge to evaluate its effect. The influence of different additives, such as different types and amount of fillers and additionally added low molar mass silicone oils, on the hydrophobicity recovery of the material was investigated. The effects of two types of corona treatment were also evaluated. Hydrophobicity recovery of corona and UV-C aged PDMS samples was evaluated by means of static contact angle measurements. Positron annihilation spectroscopy (PAS) gave important information on the micro structural change after corona treatment of RTV PDMS as well as naturally aged high temperature vulcanized (HTV) PDMS samples. The different formulations of the RTV PDMS samples and the effect of the additives were studied with this technique. The formation of a thin, highly crosslinked inorganic silica-like (SiOx) layer was confirmed even at the early stage of degradation. It was also possible to estimate the thickness of the silica-like layer formed during corona exposure that is responsible for the loss and recovery of hydrophobicity. The surface hardness and hydrophilicity change of PDMS samples due to corona treatment were studied simultaneously with force distance measurements by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The adhesive force calculated from the pull-off force-distance curves showed that the adhesive force between the probe and the sample decreased with increasing corona treatment time, indicating hydrophobicity recovery. In addition to this, the increase in hardness after corona exposure provides indirect evidence of the formation of a silica-like layer. In all cases the hydrophilicity and the surface hardness of the PDMS samples increased directly after corona treatment and recovered with time. Two types of FTIR spectroscopy were used to analyse the surface of the polymer.