Dipole moments in oriented poly(ethylene terephthalate)

Dielectric experiments were performed in the β temperature region on poly(ethylene terephthalate) films of different draw ratios. The proportion of various conformations, crystallinity, and orientation were estimated from infrared, density, and birefringence measurements. The dielectric relaxation strength was determined from the Cole–Cole plot of the dielectric constants over a wide frequency range. An attempt was made to modify the Fröhlich equation, originally for isotropic systems, for application to systems of oriented dipoles. When the experimental data are analyzed through this modified equation, it is evident that the changes in the dielectric constants of PET with stretching could not be accounted for by improvement in the alignment of chain molecules alone. The relative abundance of the trans conformation, both crystalline and amorphous, and gauche conformation appears to be a factor which cannot be ignored. The calculation indicates that the dipole moment seems to be greater in the trans conformation than in the gauche conformation.