TY  - JOUR
A1  - Wang, Jingwen
A1  - Rychkov, Dmitry
A1  - Nguyen, Quyet Doan
A1  - Gerhard, Reimund
T1  - The influence of orthophosphoric-acid surface modification on charge-storage enhancement in polypropylene electrets
JF  - Journal of applied physics
N2  - Bipolar electrets from polypropylene (PP) are essential, e.g., in electret air filters and in cellular-foam ferroelectrets. Therefore, the mechanism of surface-charge stability enhancement on PP electrets via orthophosphoric-acid surface treatment is investigated in detail. It is shown that the significant charge-stability enhancement can be mainly attributed to deeper surface traps originating from deposited chemicals and topographic features on the modified surfaces. Thermally stimulated discharge of chemically treated and non-treated PP films with different surface-charge densities is used to test the limits of the newly formed deep traps in terms of the capacity for hosting surface charges. When the initial surface-charge density is very high, more charges are forced into shallower original traps on the surface or in the bulk of the treated PP samples, reducing the effect of the deeper surface traps brought by the surface modification. The well-known crossover phenomenon (of the surface-charge decay curves) has been observed between modified PP electrets charged to +/- 2kV and to +/- 3kV. Acoustically probed charge distributions in the thickness direction of PP electrets at different stages of thermal discharging indicate that the deep surface trapping sites may have preference for negative charges, resulting in the observed asymmetric charge stability of the modified PP films.
Y1  - 2020
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0013805
SN  - 0021-8979
SN  - 1089-7550
VL  - 128
IS  - 3
PB  - American Institute of Physics
CY  - Melville
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Wang, Jingwen
A1  - Rychkov, Dmitry
A1  - Nguyen, Quyet Doan
A1  - Gerhard, Reimund
T1  - Unexpected bipolar space-charge polarization across transcrystalline interfaces in polypropylene electret films
JF  - Journal of applied physics
N2  - A double-layer transcrystalline polypropylene (PP) film with a flat central interface layer between its two transcrystalline layers is obtained by recrystallization from the melt between two polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) surfaces on both sides of the PP film. Its electret properties are studied and compared with those of a single-layer transcrystalline PP film re-crystallized in contact with only one PTFE surface. Within experimental uncertainty, the two types of transcrystalline films exhibit the same thermal properties and crystallinities. After thermal poling, however, two hetero-charge layers of opposite polarity are found on the internal interfaces of the double-layer transcrystalline films and may together be considered as micrometer-sized dipoles. The unexpected phenomenon does not occur in single-layer transcrystalline samples without a central interface layer, suggesting that the interfaces between the transcrystalline layers and the micrometer-thick central interface layer may be the origin of deeper traps rather than the crystalline structures in the transcrystallites or the spherulites. The origin of the interfacial charges was also studied by means of an injection-blocking charging method, which revealed that intrinsic charge carriers introduced during recrystallization are most likely responsible for the interfacial charges. It is fascinating that a material as familiar as PP can exhibit such intriguing properties with a special bipolar space-charge polarization across the central interface layer after quasi-epitaxial surface moulding into a double-layer transcrystalline form. In addition to applications in electret (micro-)devices for electro-mechanical transduction, the highly ordered structures may also be employed as a new paradigm for studying charge storage and transport in polymer electrets and in dielectrics for DC electrical insulation.
Y1  - 2020
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0022071
SN  - 0021-8979
SN  - 1089-7550
VL  - 128
IS  - 13
PB  - American Institute of Physics, AIP
CY  - Melville, NY
ER  -