Ionic conduction in polymer films and related systems

In polymer films, electrical conduction by ion transport is a significant process which is potentially capable of revealing various aspects of the film's morphology. In this report, further details and consequences of conduction experiments with ion‐doped cellulose 2.5 acetate will be discussed along with some corroborating evidence for a large number of organic liquids. The most important conclusions are: (1) sorbed moisture provides charge carriers by dissociation to H+ and OH−, and (2) the effective dielectric constant ϵ′ is increased by sorbed moisture to a value above that of the pure polymer, or organic liquid, so that barriers to the dissociation of ionic species are greatly reduced. Furthermore, the theory of weak electrolytes may be applied to “strong electrolytes” within solid polymeric and/or liquid organic systems.