High-Throughput Compatibility Screening of Materials for SF6-Alternative Insulation.

With the annual global electricity production exceeding 30,000 TWh, the safe transmission of electric power has been heavily relying on SF6, the most potent industrial greenhouse gas. While promising SF6 alternatives have been proposed, their compatibilities with materials used in gas-insulated equipment (GIE) must be thoroughly studied. This is particularly true as the emerging SF6 alternatives generally leverage their relatively higher reactivity to achieve lower global warming potentials (GWPs). Here, a high-throughput compatibility screening of common GIE materials was conducted with a representative SF6 alternative, namely, C4F7N (2,3,3,3-tetrafluoro-2-(trifluoromethyl)propanenitrile)/CO2 gas mixtures. In this screening, the insulation performance of C4F7N/CO2 gas mixtures, as an indicator of the C4F7N/materials compatibility level, was periodically monitored during the thermal aging with tens of materials from SF6-insulated GIE, including desiccants/adsorbents, rubber, plastics, composites, ceramics, metals, etc. The identification of incompatible materials and the follow-up mechanism studies suggested that the acidity of materials represents the primary cause for C4F7N/materials incompatibility when C4F7N/CO2 gas mixtures are used as a drop-in replacement solution for existing SF6-insulated apparatuses. Mitigation strategies tackling the acidity of materials were then proposed and validated. Additionally, the amphoteric characteristics of C4F7N were briefly discussed. This work provides insight into the materials incompatibility of SF6 alternatives, along with validated mitigation strategies, for the selection and design of materials used in future eco-friendly GIE.

Flexible cyclic-olefin with enhanced dipolar relaxation for harsh condition electrification.

Flexible large bandgap dielectric materials exhibiting ultra-fast charging-discharging rates are key components for electrification under extremely high electric fields. A polyoxafluoronorbornene (m-POFNB) with fused five-membered rings separated by alkenes and flexible single bonds as the backbone, rather than conjugated aromatic structure typically for conventional high-temperature polymers, is designed to achieve simultaneously high thermal stability and large bandgap. In addition, an asymmetrically fluorinated aromatic pendant group extended from the fused bicyclic structure of the backbone imparts m-POFNB with enhanced dipolar relaxation and thus high dielectric constant without sacrificing the bandgap. m-POFNB thereby exhibits an unprecedentedly high discharged energy density of 7.44 J/cm3 and high efficiency at 150 °C. This work points to a strategy to break the paradox of mutually exclusive constraints between bandgap, dielectric constant, and thermal stability in the design of all-organic polymer dielectrics for harsh condition electrifications.

Sandwiched Polymer Nanocomposites Reinforced by Two-Dimensional Interface Nanocoating for Ultrahigh Energy Storage Performance at Elevated Temperatures.

Polymer-based dielectrics are essential components in electrical and power electronic systems for high power density storage and conversion. A mounting challenge for polymer dielectrics is how to maintain their electrical insulation at not only high electric fields but also elevated temperatures, in order to meet the growing needs for renewable energies and grand electrifications. Here, a sandwiched barium titanate/polyamideimide nanocomposite with reinforced interfaces via two-dimensional nanocoatings is presented. It is demonstrated that boron nitride and montmorillonite nanocoatings can block and dissipate injected charges, respectively, to present a synergetic effect on the suppression of conduction loss and the enhancement of breakdown strength. Ultrahigh energy densities of 2.6, 1.8, and 1.0 J cm-3 are obtained at 150 °C, 200 °C, and 250 °C, respectively, with a charge-discharge efficiency >90%, far outperforming the state-of-the-art high-temperature polymer dielectrics. Cyclic charge-discharge tests up to 10 000 times verify the excellent lifetime of the interface-reinforced sandwiched polymer nanocomposite. This work provides a new pathway to design high-performance polymer dielectrics for high-temperature energy storage via interfacial engineering.

A review on factors that affect surface charge accumulation and charge-induced surface flashover.

The surface charge accumulation is very likely to trigger the surface flashover, which limits the large-scale application of DC GIL/GIS. This article comprehensively reviews the effect of six factors, including insulator-electrode shape, surface roughness of the insulator and conductor, metal particles, temperature, humidity, and gas type, on the insulator surface charging property. Furthermore, three models i.e. 'analogous ineffective region' expansion model, charge cluster triggered surface flashover model, and synergistic model of adsorbed gas, revealing the mechanism of charge triggered surface flashover phenomenon are reviewed and discussed. Future work from the perspective of theoretical analysis and engineering application are suggested in this field.

Partial Discharge Monitoring on Metal-Enclosed Switchgear with Distributed Non-Contact Sensors.

Metal-enclosed switchgear, which are widely used in the distribution of electrical energy, play an important role in power distribution networks. Their safe operation is directly related to the reliability of power system as well as the power quality on the consumer side. Partial discharge detection is an effective way to identify potential faults and can be utilized for insulation diagnosis of metal-enclosed switchgear. The transient earth voltage method, an effective non-intrusive method, has substantial engineering application value for estimating the insulation condition of switchgear. However, the practical application effectiveness of TEV detection is not satisfactory because of the lack of a TEV detection application method, i.e., a method with sufficient technical cognition and analysis. This paper proposes an innovative online PD detection system and a corresponding application strategy based on an intelligent feedback distributed TEV wireless sensor network, consisting of sensing, communication, and diagnosis layers. In the proposed system, the TEV signal or status data are wirelessly transmitted to the terminal following low-energy signal preprocessing and acquisition by TEV sensors. Then, a central server analyzes the correlation of the uploaded data and gives a fault warning level according to the quantity, trend, parallel analysis, and phase resolved partial discharge pattern recognition. In this way, a TEV detection system and strategy with distributed acquisition, unitized fault warning, and centralized diagnosis is realized. The proposed system has positive significance for reducing the fault rate of medium voltage switchgear and improving its operation and maintenance level.

Towards Optical Partial Discharge Detection with Micro Silicon Photomultipliers.

Optical detection is reliable in intrinsically characterizing partial discharges (PDs). Because of the great volume and high-level power supply of the optical devices that can satisfy the requirements in photosensitivity, optical PD detection can merely be used in laboratory studies. To promote the practical application of the optical approach in an actual power apparatus, a silicon photomultiplier (SiPM)-based PD sensor is introduced in this paper, and its basic properties, which include the sensitivity, pulse resolution, correlation with PD severity, and electromagnetic (EM) interference immunity, are experimentally evaluated. The stochastic phase-resolved PD pattern (PRPD) for three typical insulation defects are obtained by SiPM PD detector and are compared with those obtained using a high-frequency current transformer (HFCT) and a vacuum photomultiplier tube (PMT). Because of its good performances in the above aspects and its additional advantages, such as the small size, low power supply, and low cost, SiPM offers great potential in practical optical PD monitoring.

Probing Electronic Band Structures of Dielectric Polymers via Pre-Breakdown Conduction.

The electronic band structure, especially the defect states at the conduction band tail, dominates electron transport and electrical degradation of a dielectric material under an extremely high electric field. However, the electronic band structure in a dielectric is barely well studied due to experimental challenges in detecting the electrical conduction to an extremely high electric field, i.e., prebreakdown. In this work, the electronic band structure of polymer dielectric films is probed through an in situ prebreakdown conduction measurement method in conjunction with a space-charge-limited-current spectroscopic analysis. An exponential distribution of defect states at the conduction band tail with varying trap levels is observed in accordance with the specific morphological disorder in the polymer dielectric, and the experimental defect states show also a favorable agreement with the calculated density of states from the density functional theory. The methodology demonstrated in this work bridges the molecule-structure-determined electronic band structure and the macro electrical conduction behavior with a highly improved understanding of material properties that control the electrical breakdown, and paves a way for guiding the modification of existing material and the exploration of novel materials for high electric field applications.

Influence of F-Containing Materials on Perovskite Solar Cells.

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are usually modified and passivated to improve their performance and stability. The interface modification and bulk doping are the two basic strategies. Fluorine (F)-containing materials are highly favored because of their unique hydrophobicity and coordination ability. This review discusses the basic characteristics of F, and the basic principles of improving the photovoltaic performance and stability of PSC devices using F-containing materials. We systematically summarized the latest progress in the application of F-containing materials to achieve efficient and stable PSCs on several key interface layers. It is believed that this work will afford significant understanding and inspirations toward the future application directions of F-containing materials in PSCs, and provide profound insights for the development of efficient and stable PSCs.

Pendant Group Functionalization of Cyclic Olefin for High Temperature and High-Density Energy Storage.

High-temperature flexible polymer dielectrics are critical for high density energy storage and conversion. The need to simultaneously possess a high bandgap, dielectric constant and glass transition temperature forms a substantial design challenge for novel dielectric polymers. Here, by varying halogen substituents of an aromatic pendant hanging off a bicyclic mainchain polymer, a class of high-temperature olefins with adjustable thermal stability are obtained, all with uncompromised large bandgaps. Halogens substitution of the pendant groups at para or ortho position of polyoxanorborneneimides (PONB) imparts it with tunable high glass transition from 220 to 245 °C, while with high breakdown strength of 625-800 MV/m. A high energy density of 7.1 J/cc at 200 °C is achieved with p-POClNB, representing the highest energy density reported among homo-polymers. Molecular dynamic simulations and ultrafast infrared spectroscopy are used to probe the free volume element distribution and chain relaxations pertinent to dielectric thermal properties. An increase in free volume element is observed with the change in the pendant group from fluorine to bromine at the para position; however, smaller free volume element is observed for the same pendant when at the ortho position due to steric hindrance. With the dielectric constant and bandgap remaining stable, properly designing the pendant groups of PONB boosts its thermal stability for high density electrification.

Effect of Fluorine in Redesigning Energy-Storage Properties of High-Temperature Dielectric Polymers.

Exploration of novel polymer dielectrics exhibiting high electric-field stability and high energy density with high efficiency at elevated temperatures is urgently needed for ever-demanding energy-storage technologies. Conventional high-temperature polymers with conjugated backbone structures cannot fulfill this demand due to their deteriorated performance at elevated electric fields. Here, in search of new polymer structures, we have explored the effect of fluorine groups on the energy-storage properties of polyoxanorbornene imide polymers with simultaneous wide band gap and high glass transition temperature (Tg). The systematic synthesis of polymers with varying amounts of fluorine is carried out and characterized for the energy-storage properties. The incorporation of fluorine imparts flexibility to the polymer structure, and free-standing films can be obtained. An oxanorbornene copolymer with 25% fluorination exhibits a high breakdown strength of 700 MV/m and a discharged energy density of 6.3 J/cm3 with 90% efficiency. The incorporation of fluorine helps to increase the polymer band gap, as observed using UV-vis spectroscopy, but lowers the polymer Tg, as shown by differential scanning calorimetry. Both the displacement-electric field (D-E) hysteresis loop and high-field conduction measurements show increased conduction loss for polymers with higher fluorine content, despite their larger band gap. The presence of excess free volume may play a key role in increasing the conduction current and lowering the efficiency of polymers with high fluorine content. Such an improved understanding of the effect of fluorination on the polymer energy-storage properties, as revealed in this systematic molecular engineering study, broadens the basis of material-informatic proxies to enable a more targeted codesign of scalable and efficient polymer dielectrics.

Interfacial 2D Montmorillonite Nanocoatings Enable Sandwiched Polymer Nanocomposites to Exhibit Ultrahigh Capacitive Energy Storage Performance at Elevated Temperatures.

Polymer dielectrics are essential for advanced electrical and electronic power systems due to their ultrafast charge-discharge rate. However, a long-standing challenge is to maintain their dielectric performance at high temperatures. Here, a layered barium titanate/polyamideimide nanocomposite reinforced with rationally designed interfaces is reported for high-temperature high-energy-density dielectrics. Nanocoatings composed of 2D montmorillonite nanosheets with anisotropic conductivities are interposed at two kinds of macroscopic interfaces: 1) the interfaces between adjacent layers in the nanocomposites (inside) and 2) the interfaces between the surface of the nanocomposite and the electrode (outside). By revealing the charge transport behavior with Kelvin probe force microscope, surface potential decay, and finite element simulation, it is demonstrated that the outside nanocoatings are observed to diminish charge injection from the electrode, while the inside nanocoatings can suppress the kinetic energy of hot carriers by redirecting their transport. In this interface-reinforced nanocomposite, an ultrahigh energy density of 2.48 J cm-3 , as well as a remarkable charge-discharge efficiency >80%, is achieved at 200 °C, six times higher than that of the nanocomposite without interfacial nanocoatings. This research unveils a novel approach for the structural design of polymer nanocomposites based on engineered interfaces to achieve high-efficient and high-temperature capacitive energy storage.

Dielectric Polymers Tolerant to Electric Field and Temperature Extremes: Integration of Phenomenology, Informatics, and Experimental Validation.

Flexible polymer dielectrics tolerant to electric field and temperature extremes are urgently needed for a spectrum of electrical and electronic applications. Given the complexity of the dielectric breakdown mechanism and the vast chemical space of polymers, the discovery of suitable candidates is nontrivial. We have laid the foundation for a systematic search of the polymer chemical space, which starts with "gold-standard" experimental measurements and data on the temperature-dependent breakdown strength (Ebd) for a benchmark set of commercial dielectric polymer films. Phenomenological guidelines are derived from this data set on easily accessible properties (or "proxies") that are correlated with Ebd. Screening criteria based on these proxy properties (e.g., band gap, charge injection barrier, and cohesive energy density) and other necessary characteristics (e.g., a high glass transition temperature to maintain the thermal stability and a high dielectric constant for high energy density) were then setup. These criteria, along with machine learning models of these properties, were used to screen polymers candidates from a candidate list of more than 13 000 previously synthesized polymers, followed by experimental validation of some of the screened candidates. These efforts have led to the creation of a consistent and high-quality data set of temperature-dependent Ebd, and the identification of screening criteria, chemical design rules, and a list of optimal polymer candidates for high-temperature and high-energy-density capacitor applications, thus demonstrating the power of an integrated and informatics-based philosophy for rational materials design.