Electrical characterization of polymer matrix — TiO2 filler composites through isothermal polarization / depolarization currents and I–V tests

Abstract

Specimens of polymer matrix — ceramic TiO2 filler composites were prepared. The contribution of the filler content on the electrical conductivity and energy storage properties of the samples was examined. I–V and Isothermal Polarization/Depolarization Current (IPC/IDC) measurements were conducted. Dc conductivity values directly calculated from the I–V curves exhibited excellent agreement with corresponding values derived from the IPC/IDC recordings. Standard models were employed for fitting the IPC/IDC data. In specific, the short and the very long depolarization times were fitted by use of power laws of different slopes, while the intermediate depolarization times were fitted as a sum of three exponential decays. The present study reveals a strong dependence of the depolarization and polarization processes, as well as of the dc conductivity, on the filler concentration.