Thioxanthone derivatives as stabilizers against electrical breakdown in cross-linked polyethylene for high voltage cable applications

In the search of voltage stabilizers for high voltage underground cables the chemical synthesis and electrical tree inhibiting effect of a series of thioxanthone derivatives in cross-linked low-density polyethylene (XLPE) is reported. The strongest increase in electrical tree initiation field under high-voltage alternating current (HVAC) conditions was 55% compared to reference XLPE after the addition of 0.3 wt% 9-oxo-9H-thioxanthen-2-yl methacrylate. Thermal analysis, small angle X-ray scattering and gel content measurements showed that the addition of the stabilizers did not significantly influence the microstructure and gel fraction of XLPE. A comparison between the stabilizing effects of the thioxanthone derivatives and previously reported photophysical properties revealed that a short lifetime of the triplet excited state can be related to a good voltage-stabilizing effect.