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Modification induced by alpha particle irradiationin Makrofol polycarbonate
Author(s) -
Nouh S. A.,
Mohamed Amal,
El Hussieny H. M.,
Hegazy T. M.
Publication year - 2008
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.28469
Subject(s) - polycarbonate , infrared spectroscopy , materials science , polymer , analytical chemistry (journal) , irradiation , activation energy , polymer chemistry , spectroscopy , particle (ecology) , nuclear chemistry , chemistry , composite material , organic chemistry , physics , oceanography , quantum mechanics , nuclear physics , geology
Makrofol DE 1‐1 CC polycarbonate samples were exposed to alpha particles of initial energies at levels between 5.1 and 34 MeV. The modifications induced in polycarbonate samples due to the alpha particle irradiation have been studied through different characterization techniques such as X‐ray diffraction (XRD), infrared spectroscopy, intrinsic viscosity, and color difference studies. The infrared spectroscopy indicated that the intensities of the characteristic absorption bands decrease with increasing the deposited alpha energy in the range 5.1–8.4 MeV, indicating that the degradation is the dominant mechanism at this range. At the same time, an increase in the OH groups was observed at the same energy range 5.1–8.4 MeV due to the degradation of carbonate group and the H abstraction from the polymer backbone to form hydroxyl groups. The degradation reported by IR spectroscopy enhanced the degree of ordering in the degraded samples as revealed by XRD technique. Additionally, this degradation decreases the intrinsic viscosity from 0.56 to 0.43 at 35°C, indicating a decrease in the average molecular mass. The non irradiated Polycarbonate polymer is nearly colorless. It showed significant darkness sensitivity towards alpha particle irradiation, indicated by an increase in the color intercept L * from 33.6 to 36.7. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008