First and foremost, I am very grateful to have been selected as a recipient of the 2023 DEIS Graduate Fellowship. This opportunity allowed me to expand my research beyond the primary scope of my PhD and to gain valuable insights into current trends in the field of dielectrics and insulation systems.
My project focused on investigating a novel vitrimer and its suitability as an insulating material for high-voltage applications. The results were very promising. It was demonstrated that this polymer exhibits self-healing capabilities with the application of pressure and heat as shown in the figure below. This enables in-situ repair mechanisms and stress relaxation during manufacturing avoiding stress cracking during the casting. Furthermore, key electrical properties indicate strong potential for use in high-voltage insulation systems. The relative permittivity is between 3.2 and 3.5 in a temperature range between 25°C and 100°C with a loss tangent below 0.04. The apparent DC conductivity at room temperature is below 10e-16 S/m at room temperature and just above 10e-13 S/m at about 110 °C. The characteristic breakdown strength was measured to be at 285 kV/mm at room temperature. Thus, this material represents a compelling candidate for more sustainable insulation solutions.
Figure 1: Pictures of the healing process of an electrical breakdown. As one can see the breakdown path could be fully closed over a time span of 22 h with the application of heat and pressure.
The culmination of the project was the presentation of the results at CEIDP 2025 in Manchester. As this was my first conference experience, I did not know what to expect; however, it proved to be extremely rewarding. I had the opportunity to present my work, engage with the community, and meet peers in person. This experience strongly reinforced my motivation to actively contribute to and remain part of the dielectrics and insulation community.
As this experience was made possible through the DEIS Fellowship, I would like to express my sincere gratitude for this support. The fellowship has had a meaningful impact on both my research and my professional development, and I highly value the opportunity I was given.
Figure 2: Me at the end of the presentation during the Q&A session at the CEIDP 2025 in