A STUDY OF ELECTRICAL-CONDUCTION IN POLYPROPYLENE FOIL

The dark current in commercial polypropylene (PP) is measured at tempe ratures ranging from 333 to 413 K and fields ranging from 70 to 125 kV /cm. The specimens are metallized on both sides by evaporated layers o f silver and aluminium. An attempt is made to identify the nature of t he current by comparing its observed dependence on electric fields, el ectrode material, and temperature with the respective characteristic f eatures of the existing theories of electrical conduction. The observe d results suggest that the electrical conduction in PP is governed by a Jonscher-Ansari modified Poole-Frenkel mechanism.