This paper describes the influence of ambient temperature on the frictional electricity of polymer films. The polymers examined are polycarbonate (PC), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyethyleneterephthalate (PET) and polypropylene (PP). Because the electrical resistivities of those polymers are very high even at near 100°C, the charges lost by leakage are negligibly small. The rubbing material is platinum (Pt), but for the sample of PC, polyvinyl chloride is also used.
The frictional electricity was expressed by the
Q1 value, which was the charge generated on the sample of film by one rub at a constant rubbing condition (normal load: below 20 g/cm, rubbing velocity: 1.1 cm/sec), under the ambient temperature varying betwen -20°C and 120°C at a constant rate: 1°C/min. Before measurements of the
Q1 value by means of a scanning micro probe, the sample and the rubbing material were wiped quickly by the gauze absorbed methanol to eliminate the residual charge and to clean their surfaces. Usually, the sample was stuck on a Teflon block with an adhesive.
In order to discuss the temperature dependence of the
Q1 value, the viscoelastic properties of polymer films were measured by a tan δ meter.
The results are as follows:(1) When the visco-elastic properties of the contacting materials, change moderately with respect to the ambient temperature, the variation of the
Q1 value is also slight.
(2) When the contacting materials have glass transition etc. within the temperature range of the present work, the
Q1 value increases with temperature to a maximum and then falls. For this behavior, it is considered that the visco-elastic properties of the contacting materials influence their frictional electricity, on the basis of the interfacial adhesion mechanism which has been interpreted by Grosch on the friction of rubber.
(3) In the case of PP, the
Q1 value gets to a maximum near 70°C and then decreases rapidly with increasing temperature. This decrease of the
Q1 value seems to be due to the thermal oxidation of the surface of PP. In fact, the activation energy of the thermal oxidation of PP, which is obtained from the time dependence of the
Q1 value at high temperature, is 25.7 kcal/mol and agrees well with those in the literature.
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