The α relaxation in nylon terpolymer studied by TSD

The persistent electrical polarization in nylon terpolymer films was investigated by measuring the thermally stimulated discharge (TSD) current at different polarizing fields, temperatures, and heating rates. An ε peak is observed at about 333 K which has the characteristics of a dipolar relaxation process. Differential thermal analysis showed good correlation with TS ε peak. It is concluded that the TS peak is associated with the glass transition temperature of the nylon terpolymer, and therefore involves the motion of large parts (sequences of 20 to 50 carbon atoms) of the polymer chains. The rigid glass becomes rubbery and the main chain motion becomes more and more active as the temperature is raised. The apparent activation energy of the process has been calculated by several experimental methods. It value was about 2 eV and the equivalent frequency of the peak was on the order of 2×10 ^-3 Hz