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Electrical conductivity of polypropylene
Author(s) -
Foss Richard A.,
Dannhauser Walter
Publication year - 1963
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.1963.070070318
Subject(s) - activation energy , materials science , conductivity , diffusion , polypropylene , electrical resistivity and conductivity , polymer , thermal conduction , field strength , crystallinity , thermodynamics , isothermal process , conductance , chemistry , condensed matter physics , composite material , physics , quantum mechanics , magnetic field
The steady‐state (d.c.) electrical conductivity of polypropylene has been measured as a function of temperature (25–150°C.) and field strength (0–94 kv./cm.). The temperature coefficient of the conductivity is 34.6 kcal./mole expressed as an activation energy. This is much larger than the activation energy for diffusion of small molecules in the same polymer. Thus, ionization rather than diffusion appears to be the primary activation process. The conductivity is nonohmic; the conductance quotient is a linear function of field strength but is larger than predicted by Onsager's theory. The ion “jump distance” as evaluated from the isothermal field dependence, is the same order of magnitude as the diffusional mean free path estimated from diffusion studies in other polymers. The conductivity, conduction activation energy, and field dependence appear to be relatively insensitive to polymer crystallinity.