Charge Relaxation in Polylactide/Montmorillonite Composite Materials

This study focuses on charge relaxation process in a new composite material based on polylactide (PLA) and montmorillonite (MMT), which was used as a filler. The samples with different mass percentages of MMT were charged in a corona discharge and studied using the compensation method with a vibrating electrode. Time dependences of the electret potential differences were achieved. Thermally stimulated depolarization currents (TSDC) were used to identify the relaxation processes. The TSDC spectra were analyzed in terms of the superposition method.