Effect of large amplitude oscillatory shear (LAOS) on the dielectric response of 1,4-cis-polyisoprene

The dielectric response of 1,4-cis-polyisoprene under applied mechanical oscillatory shear with various shear amplitudes was investigated. For this purpose, a special setup was constructed which enables to measure dielectric spectra under the influence of large amplitude oscillatory shear (LAOS); the setup is explained in detail. A strong influence of the shear amplitude on the dielectric relaxation strength was observed if the dielectric normal mode was mechanically affected. With increasing amplitude the relaxation strength decreased while the mean relaxation time, the width and asymmetry basically remained unchanged. We interpret this process as an orientational phenomenon of the end-to-end-vectors which results in a decreasing fluctuation amplitude of the polarization fluctuations.