Abstract
In this letter, we experimentally demonstrate that the lightning impulse breakdown characteristics of natural ester liquids can be significantly enhanced by dispersing molecular additives possessing lower values of both the ionization potential and 1st excitation energies as compared to the base liquid. One such additive contributed to an increase in the breakdown and acceleration voltage of the base liquid by 32% and 90%, respectively. Apart from the expected influence of the low ionization potential of the additives, results also indicate a positive effect of lower value of 1st excitation energy. © 2013 AIP Publishing LLC