Effect of water adsorption on the dielectric properties of polymer nanocomposites

In this paper, the effect of the water absorbed by inorganic nanofillers (e.g. during the manufacturing process prior to the extrusion) on the electrical properties of a thermoplastic polymer based nanocomposite is studied. Particularly, it is shown how the absorption of water by the nanofiller can affect significantly the nanocomposite electrical properties. Two nanofillers, i.e. fluorohectorite and bohemite, with two different levels of water content, were used to study the effects on electrical properties, in particular space charge accumulation, electric strength and conduction current.