Open- and short-circuit thermally stimulated currents in ethyl cellulose (EC): Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) blend

Abstract

Mechanisms of charge generation and its persistence in one and both-side vacuum-aluminized ethyl cellulose (EC): polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) blend thermoelectrets, prepared under different fields (10, 25, 50 and 100 kV/cm) and temperatures (40, 60, 80 and 100 °C), have been analyzed using short- and open-circuit thermally stimulated depolarization current (TSDC) technique. The TSDCs were recorded by reheating the samples at a linear heating rate of 4 °C/min. The TSDC thermograms of polyblends containing EC:PMMA in different weight ratio are, in general, characterized with two peaks in lower and higher temperature regions. However, the polarity of the peaks was found to be just opposite in short- and open-circuit TSDC measurements. Moreover, results on 97:3, 93:7 and 90:10 EC:PMMA polyblends indicated that the current increases with concentration of PMMA. The results indicate the existence of heterocharge due to dipole orientation and ionic charge drift together with the injection of charge carriers from electrodes with their subsequent localization in surface and bulk traps. Further, the chances of charge trapping in polyblends, at the interfaces are greater than in the individual polymers.