The nonlinear dielectric effect of α,ω-dibromoalkanes

Abstract

The nonlinear dielectric effect (NLDE) is the change of the dielectric constant of a medium when a strong electric field is applied across it. In this paper, we show the relationship of the NLDE to 〈μ4〉, where μ is the dipole moment of a flexible molecule and 〈 〉 denotes the configurational average in the absence of an applied electric field. We calculate the NLDE of the α,ω-dibromoalkanes using the rotational isomeric state approximation and matrix multiplication methods of Flory. Good agreement is found between our calculations and the experimental results reported by Chelkowski.