Electrical conduction in polypropylene thin films

Abstract

The electrical conduction in Ag-polypropylene-Ag sandwich samples is studied measuring the dependence of current (I) on voltage (U) and temperature (T). The experimental results of I–U–T relationships show that Schottky field assisted thermionic emission is the dominant conduction mechanism in the temperature range 390 to 440 K. The metalinsulator work function is calculated to ≈︁ 1.83 eV. Hysteresis and polarization effects are also observed in the I–U characteristics in this range of temperature. Contribution due to bulk polarization is suggested in the conduction mechanism besides the Schottky emission.