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5. Structure-Property Relations
1. Dielectric constant
2. Electrical resistance
4. Arc resistance
5. Dielectric strength
Dielectric Constant — Dielectric constant is the ratio of the capacity of a condenser made
with or containing the test material to the capacity of the same condenser with air as the
dielectric.
a. insulation resistance
b. volume resistivity
c. surface resistivity
e. surface resistance.
Conductive materials, such as copper, have specific resistance values of about 106 ohm cm,
whereas good insulators, such as polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and low-density
polyethylene (LDPE), have values of about 1017 ohm cm.
Dissipation Factor and Power Factor — The dissipation factor can be defined as the ratio
of the conductance of a capacitor (in which the material is the dielectric) to its susceptibility.
Both the dielectric constant and dissipation factor are measured by comparison or
substitution in a classical electric bridge. The power factor is the energy required for the
rotation of the dipoles of a polymer in an applied electrostatic field of increasing frequency.
These values, which typically range from 1.5 ╳ 104 for polystyrene to 5 ╳ 102 for plasticized
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cellulose acetate, increase at Tg because of increased chain mobility. The loss factor is the
product of the power factor and the dielectric constant, and is a measure of the total electric
loss in a dielectric material.
Arc Resistance — a measure of the resistance of a material to the action of an arc of high
voltage and low current close to the surface of the sample to form a conducting path on this
surface. Arc resistance values are of use in surface quality control since small surface
changes will affect the arc resistance value.
Dielectric Strength — The insulating property of materials breaks down in strong fields.
This breakdown strength is called the electric or dielectric strength (DS), i.e., the voltage
required for failure. Breakdown means sudden passage of excessive current through the
material, which often results in visible damage to the specimen. The DS is high for many
insulating polymers and may be as high as 103 MV/m.
WEATHERABILITY
Nonpolar polymers such as polyethylene have low water absorption whereas more polar
polymers such as polycarbonates, nylons, and polysaccharides have relatively greater
moisture retention.
Resistance to biological attack — important for many polymer applications including almost
all of the biomedical applications, food storage and protection, and coatings where
microorganism destruction is important.
- Most synthetic polymers are resistant to destruction by microorganisms. This is
particularly true for nonpolar polymers, but less so for condensation polymers such as
nylons and polyesters.
- Preservatives and antimicroorganism additives may be added, when appropriate, to
protect the material against these microorganisms.
OPTICAL PROPERTY
Important since polymers are often used as clear plastics or coatings and have many
applications in which transparency is an important property.
Most polymers are transparent and colorless, but some, such as phenolic resins and
polyacetylenes, are colored, translucent, or opaque.
Clarity is typical for light passing through a homogeneous material, such as a crystalline
ordered polymer or a completely amorphous polymer.
Interference occurs when the light beam passes through a heterogeneous material such as
a polymer containing both crystalline and amorphous regions.
Polymers that are transparent to visible light may be colored by the addition of colorants,
and some become opaque as the result of the presence of additives such as fillers,
stabilizers, flame retardants, moisture, and gases.
CHEMICAL RESISTANCE
In general,
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- Condensation polymers, because of the polarity of the connective “condensation”
linkages within the polymer backbone, have good stability to nonpolar liquids and are
(relatively) moderately or unstable toward polar agents and acids and bases.
- Vinyl type of polymers exhibit moderate to good stability toward both polar and nonpolar
liquids and acids and bases. This is because the carbon–carbon backbone is not
particularly susceptible to attack by polar agents, and nonpolar liquids, at best, will simply
solubilize the polymer.
- The materials in the table below show good stability to water because all of the polymers
have sufficient hydrophobic character to repeal the water.
THERMAL STABILITY/DEGRADATION
1. Chain scission:
(b) depolymerization — monomer units are released from an active chain end