Electrical conduction at low fields of composites sparsely filled with aluminum particles

The dc and ac electrical conduction properties have been investigated in four composites containing hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) as binder and different proportions of aluminum particles as filler in a temperature range of -60 to +70°C and a frequency range of 40 Hz to 100 kHz. A change in conduction mechanism at a temperature of 4±3°C was displayed explicitly in de measurements. The transition was shown to be due to crystallization of the HTPB upon cooling. dc conduction is explained in terms of ionic hopping in HTPB. Distinct polarization mechanisms, below and above the transition temperature, have been identified as interfacial polarisation and electrode blocking effect, respectively. The change of conduction behaviors at the crystallization temperature, 4±3°C, was not revealed explicitly in ac measurements. However, using the free volume concept to analyze the frequency shift factor a_T, a discontinuity in the fractional free volume curve was displayed. The temperature of the break point, 6.7°C, corresponds to the crystallization temperature of HTPB. The study showed that the crystallization of a polymer is accompanied by an abrupt reduction in free volume, and this structural change affects dc as well as ac conduction behaviors