Use of 2-(6-mercaptohexyl) malonic acid to adjust the morphology and electret properties of cyclic olefin copolymer and its application to flexible loudspeakers

Recent uses of flexible electret loudspeakers in futuristic applications have garnered much interest for these novel loudspeakers. In this paper, a novel thin film processing method was developed to improve the performance of an electret diaphragm. This paper discusses the relationship between the charge storage and the additive concentration. A cyclic olefin copolymer (COC) thin film containing an additive such as 2-(6-mercaptohexyl) malonic acid was prepared using a spin-coating process. Furthermore, attention was directed towards the processing conditions which were found to have an important role and are related to the self-assembly and micelle formation behavior of the additives in the COC. In the present study, thin films of 13 mu m thickness were charged by a corona method. Compared with a reference thin film of pure COC, results indicated that when a 3497 mg kg(-1) additive was added to the COC matrix, the obtained surface potential was 71% higher. Thus, the results show that a COC + additive thin film leads to a much improved charge storage. It appears to be an inexpensive and relatively easy way to form a thin structure for developing novel flexible electret loudspeakers.