Abstract
New phosphorus-modified polysulfones with different substitution degrees, obtained from chloromethylated polysulfones, were analyzed in terms of their optical, dielectric, and conduction properties. In order to obtain the optical parameters, the approach proposed by Tauc for amorphous semiconductors was used.([23,24]) The determined parameters were found to be related to the influence of the polymer chain structure and the history of films' preparations. The temperature and frequency dependence of dielectric constant and dielectric relaxation were investigated by AC-dielectric measurements. The nature of the relaxation mechanisms was established on the basis of the dielectric measurement results. The samples displayed two sub-glass relaxations, i.e. gamma relaxation - where the activation energy changes insignificantly with the substitution degree, and beta relaxation - with higher apparent activation energy for lower substitution degrees. The results obtained from Tauc's law and AC-conduction studies indicated that the conduction mechanism in the phosphorus-modified polysulfone was due to electronic hopping, and that a model based on the energy bandgap representation could be suitable for explaining the temperature dependence of electrical conductivity.