Investigation on the Role of Interface on Electrical, Thermal and Mechanical Properties of Silicone Rubber-BN Nanocomposites

The current study investigates the impact of interfacial interactions between the silicone rubber base polymer matrix and the hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) nanofiller, incorporated at different weight percentages, on electrical, thermal, and mechanical properties. The adhesion of filler to the polymer is examined through swelling tests and Kraus plots and the elastic modulus calculated has a good agreement with the experimental data. The addition of 3 wt% of BN nanofiller with silicone rubber led to a 25.4 % increment in surface discharge inception voltage (SDIV). The Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) shows that the BN filler included samples have high degradation temperature and thermal activation energy. The introduction of filler into the base polymer matrix significantly enhances mechanical properties, specifically tensile strength, tensile modulus, and percentage elongation at break. © 2024 School of Science, DUTH. All rights reserved.