Electrical conduction in hydrated collagen. I. Conductivity mechanisms

The electrical conductivity of bovine Achilles tendon with various amounts of adsorbed water was measuredas a function of temperature. The conduction appeared to be fully determined by the water of hydration. The current is probably primarily carried by protons at water contents up to 45% and by small ions at water contents beyond 65%. In both ranges of water content, a linear relation between activation energy and water and content was found. As to the lower range, this is explained by the action of Coulombic forces during the separation of proton–hydroxyl ion pairs. In two regions of water content a linear relation between the logarithm of the pre‐exponential factor and the activation energy was found. There are, however, indications that at certain water contents the dissociation constant of the adsorbed water is several orders of magnitude higher than in liquid water.