Adsorption of SF₆ Decomposed Products on ZnO-Modified C₃N: A Theoretical Study

SF₆, as an outstanding insulation medium, is widely used in the high-voltage insulation devices, guaranteeing the safe operation of the power system. Nevertheless, the inevitable partial discharge in a long-running device causes the decomposition of SF₆ and deteriorates its insulation performance. In this work, DFT calculations were performed to study the adsorbing and sensing properties of ZnO-modified C₃N (ZnO-C₃N) nanosheet towards SF₆ decomposed products, in order to propose a novel nano-candidate for evaluating the operation status of SF₆ insulation devises. We first investigated the structure of ZnO-C₃N monolayer and then simulated its adsorption behaviour upon four typical SF₆ decomposed species, namely H₂S, SO₂, SOF₂, and SO₂F₂. It is found that the ZnO-C₃N monolayer can exhibit desirable reactivity and sensitivity on SO₂, SOF₂, and SO₂F₂, leading to the intense deformation of gas molecules and large adsorption energies. These consequences allow the potential application of gas adsorbent based on ZnO-C₃N monolayer for removing impurity gases from SF₆ insulation equipment. According to the analysis, it is supposed that ZnO-C₃N monolayer is qualified to be used in maintaining insulation strength and ensuring the safe operation of power system.