Charge behavior in polyethylene-ionomer blends

In order to explain a decrease of thermally stimulated current (TSC) at high poling fields, the behavior of space charge in two types of polyethylene (PE)/ionomer blends, PE/Surlyn 1652 and PE/Surlyn 1601, has been investigated by measuring the charge distributions and conduction characteristics. PE/Surlyn 1601 blends showed smaller current densities at high electric fields than PE/Surlyn 1652 blends. A considerable amount of negative charge was found to migrate into the bulk region of PE/Surlyn 1601 blends upon discharging, which was attributed to the strong electron affinity of ionic clusters existing only in Surlyn 1601. This migration of charge made the charge distribution uniform, resulting in a decrease of TSC at high poling fields. This phenomenon was not found in PE/Surlyn 1652 blends.