A Novel-Model of Prebreakdown Currents (Up to Breakdown) of Polypropylene

Abstract

The effects of electronic structures on conduction of polymers were studied in present paper. Our conclusions suggested the conventional Band Theory is not satisfactory enough in the interpretation of conduction processes in saturated polymers. A novel prebreakdown conduction model was developed on the basis of electronic structures of polymers. And it was revealed that the prebreakdown currents resulted from the movements, inside the microvoids in materials, of electrons which were emitted from traps to the vacuum level by thermal activation and/or tunnelling. The theoretically calculated V-I plots by using present model agreed quite well with the experimental results of polypropylene.