Kautschuk Gummi Kunststoffe, Vol.55, No.3, 104-113, 2002
On immittance spectroscopy for carbon black network characterization
A method is proposed for analysis of immittance spectrum from a carbon black filled vulcanizate, in terms of a gigantic electric network made of small elements with resistor and capacitor pairs in parallel. The sensitivity of the electrical resistivity and the characteristic frequency behavior are explained by considering the quantum mechanical phenomenon of tunneling current across the narrow junctions between carbon black aggregates. A relationship between the junction width and the characteristic frequency is proposed. The meso-dispersion can then be characterized by two modes of junction width distribution. It is suggested that the amplitude of each mode can be related to the population of the junctions near that mode.
Keywords:carbon black;network;dispersion;impedance;electrical modulus;immittance spectroscopy;tunneling current;junction width;junction width distribution