Electret properties of polyethylene films modified with titanium tetrachloride vapor

Low density polyethylene films have been treated with titanium tetrachloride vapor by means of the molecular layer deposition method. It has been shown that such a treatment leads to a considerable improvement of the electret properties. The thermal stability of the electret homocharge has been increased by 60°C. At the same time, the temporal stability of charge is also improved. The modified low density polyethylene films show no “crossover phenomenon” when charged to higher voltages. Thus it is now possible to produce electrets from polyethylene films with high values of the initial charge density without a detrimental influence on the charge stability.