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Effect of atmosphere on radiation‐induced crosslinking of polyethylene. Part II. Dependency on dose rate, temperature, and gas pressure
Author(s) -
Okada Yoichi
Publication year - 1963
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.1963.070070225
Subject(s) - nitrous oxide , polyethylene , irradiation , atmosphere (unit) , materials science , oxygen , radiation , oxide , radiation effect , atmospheric pressure , chemistry , analytical chemistry (journal) , composite material , thermodynamics , optics , organic chemistry , meteorology , nuclear physics , physics , metallurgy
Abstract The gel content of polyethylene irradiated in a nitrous oxide atmosphere is higher than when irradiated in vacuum. This is due to an accelerating effect of nitrous oxide on the radiation‐induced crosslinking. The dependence of accelerating effect on dose rate, on temperature during irradiation, and on gas pressure is shown. The accelerating effect is independent of dose rate. While various complicated factors are concerned, the effect appears to be also nearly independent of temperature. The gel content rapidly increases with gas pressure, passes through a maximum, and then falls. Moreover, the position of the maximum shifts to a region of higher pressure for thicker films. From these observations, it may be difficult to explain that the accelerating effect is completely due to a free radical mechanism as shown in the depressive effect of oxygen on the crosslinking.