A study of how varying degrees of functionalised nanofiller have an effect on nanodielectrics

This paper follows our investigation on the interfacial region within nanodielectrics. Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy were used to analyse the effects of modifying nanofiller with coupling agent. Specifically, silane chemistry was used to treat nanosilica samples; by functionalising nanofiller to different degrees and introducing this into an epoxy matrix, a series of nanocomposite systems were prepared and examined. The dispersion state of the treated nanofiller in epoxy was observed using Scanning electron microscopy, where the optimum distribution was found at a ratio of 4:1 (nanosilica to silane) and the ac breakdown strength is reported to improve with uniformity in dispersion.