Annealing effect on DC conduction in polyethylene films

High-density polyethylene (HDPE) specimens with different crystallinity have been prepared by varying annealing conditions. Based on the conventional thermally activated electronic injection process, the dependence of DC conduction on the crystallinity of HDPE has been studied. We calculated that with the increase of the crystallinity from 53% to 68%, values of the metal/dielectric contact potential for samples of PE decrease from 2.75 to 2.24 eV. We presumed that the morphological microstructure of the transcrystals in the electrode–polymer interface is responsible for the difference between the potential energy of an electron at the Fermi level in the electrode and in the conductive state in the polymer bulk.