Polarization phenomena in rheomolded polymers

The kinetics of polarization in rheomolded polymers have been investigated by the ThermoStimulated Current (TSC) technique. For this study, the polystyrene has been chosen as model. The evolution of dielectric properties induced by rheomolding has been associated to new highly energetic conformations. Indeed, the critical temperature at which the free volume vanishes is significantly decreased. This variation explains the observed improvement of impact strength in rheomolded polystyrene.