ELECTRICAL AND DIELECTRIC PROPERTIES OF RUBBER

This review describes electrical and dielectric measurements of rubbery polymers. The interest in the electrical, properties is primarily due to the strong effect of conductive fillers, the obvious example being carbon black. Conductivity measurements can be used to probe dispersion and the connectivity of filler particles, both of which exert a significant influence on the mechanical behavior. Dielectric relaxation spectra are used to study the dynamics, including the local segmental dynamics and secondary relaxations, and for certain polymers the global chain modes. A recent development in the application of nonlinear dielectric spectroscopy is briefly discussed.