| Abstract: | The electrical properties of nanostructured sequential interpenetrating polymer networks from natural rubber (NR) and polystyrene (PS) have been studied in the frequency range of 102–107 Hz. The permittivity, volume resistivity, dielectric loss factor, and dissipation factor were analyzed as a function of frequency, blend composition, crosslinking level, and initiating system. It was found that the volume resistivity and dissipation factor first increase, reach a maximum around 103–105 Hz, and then decrease gradually with the increase of frequency. As the NR content is increased from 30 to 70%, the dissipation factor (tan δ) increases. On increasing the extent of the PS phase crosslinking, the permittivity increases. However, at higher levels of PS crosslinking, the permittivity values decrease due to the agglomeration of PS phase arising from excessive crosslinking. The morphology studies using a scanning electron microscope confirmed the agglomeration of PS phase at high crosslinking level. The permittivity values are maximum at 4% of crosslinking content. The influence of initiating system on the dielectric properties was not very significant. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 98: 2017–2026, 2005 |
