Electrical conductivity in corona-charged poly(vinylidene fluoride)

The stability of the electret state is usually evaluated by examining the surface potential decay under open-circuit conditions. At the same time, a novel method of constant-current corona charging has been introduced to obtain information on the processes of charge storage and polarization in polymers. An attempt has been made in the present work to combine the advantages of the two methods by charging poly(vinylidene fluoride) with protracted rectangular current pulses. As a result, a correlation of surface potential stability with the electrical conductivity, affected in turn by the level of polarization, has been revealed.<>