Some aspects of the polymers' electrostatic charging effects

The electrical charging of polymers is widely known and applied in many technical processes. However, the molecular and electronic reasons for this phenomenon are not fully understood. We will show that the electrical charging of polymers can be fundamentally described by their electron pair acceptor and donator properties. But polymer charging cannot only discuss on an electronic or molecular level, because during the contact of two polymer particles an enormous number of molecules of similar chemical structure coming into contact and super-molecular effects cause a charge formation. Special AFM techniques showed that oppositely charged domains can be stable side by side. Furthermore, it will be shown that the external conditions, especially the water content of the polymer and the Surrounding atmosphere, have an important influence on the charge stability. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.