Chapter 7 XLPE Nanocomposites and Blends: Morphology and Mechanical Properties K. C. Nimitha, Jiji Abraham, Soney C. George, and Sabu Thomas 1 Cross-Linked Polyethylene and XLPE Polymer Nanocomposites: Introduction Polyethylene is being considered as a unique polymer in the whole plastic industry and it has numerous applications. Low-density polyethylene (LDPE) has tremen- dous electrical insulating properties, and therefore it has been using as a good insulator for the last 60 years. However, it has some demerits too. It always requires a low upper service temperature which makes it unsuitable for several applications like in hot water pipes. Several modifications have been done to improve the properties and the better strategy is the replacement of LDPE by cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE). XLPE has superior heat deformation characteristics [1]. Applications of cross-linked polyethylene include heat shrinkable products, chemical resistant seals, means for thermal insulation and food stuff packaging. It has a wide range to tolerate thermal shocks and electric loading. XLPE requires only a small thickness for insulation. These reasons make it as a suitable material for cable jacketing industry [2]. From 1994, various studies have been carried out on nanodielectrics. The interface zone generated by two different materials (nanomaterials and the polymer) will increase when the filler particles are in the nanometer scale. Nanotechnology provides an easy way to tune the properties of a composite by developing the K. C. Nimitha Á J. Abraham (&) Vimala College (Autonomous), Thrissur 680009, Kerala, India e-mail: jijiabraham02@gmail.com S. C. George Centre for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Amal Jyothi College of Engineering, Kottayam, Kerala, India S. Thomas International and Inter University Centre for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam 686560, Kerala, India © Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021 J. Thomas et al. (eds.), Crosslinkable Polyethylene Based Blends and Nanocomposites, Materials Horizons: From Nature to Nanomaterials, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-0486-7_7 159