Electrical conduction in (polyvinyl alcohol/glycogen) blend films

Cast thin films of polyvinyl alcohol/glycogen blends of different compositions have been prepared and subjected to the electrical measurements of both current–time and current–voltage characteristics as well as d.c. conductivity as a function of temperature. The conduction mechanisms operative in the films at different temperature and voltage ranges are estimated from the behavior of log I versus V1/2 plots. For individual polymers, the conduction mechanism appears to be essentially a Poole–Frenkel type. On blending, at lower temperature the charge conduction is through the Schottky emission while at higher temperature the charge conduction mechanism is Poole–Frenkel. In addition, the deviation of the plots at lower voltages indicates the existence of space charge contribution in conduction mechanism. The obtained results made it possible to determine several conduction parameters including activation energy, carrier mobility, and carrier concentration. POLYM. COMPOS., 2009. © 2008 Society of Plastics Engineers