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Published on: January 30, 2015
A Comparative Study of Gamma-Ray Irradiation-Induced Oxidation: Polyethylene, Poly (Vinylidene Fluoride), and
Ha-Eun Shim1, Byoung-Min Lee1, Dae-Hee Lim1
1Advanced Radiation Technology Institute, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, 29 Geumgu-gil, Jeongeup 56212, Korea.
Abstract:
Radiation techniques are used to modify the physical, chemical and biological properties of polymers. This induces crosslinking and degradation reactions of polymers by utilizing radicals generated through ionizing radiation. However, oxidation products (such as carbonyl) can be formed because oxidation occurs by chain scission in the presence of oxygen. Herein, we demonstrate the gamma-ray irradiation-induced oxidation with and without fluorine using polyethylene, polyvinylidene fluoride and polytetrafluoroethylene under the same conditions. In this study, changes in element-content and chemical-bond structures were analyzed before and after gamma-ray irradiation under air atmosphere. As a result, polytetrafluo-roethylene showed less oxidation and excellent thermal properties after the absorbed dose of 500 kGy. This can be attributed to the generation of stable perfluoroalkylperoxy radicals after gamma ray irradiation in the PTFE structure containing only CF2 groups, thereby hindering the oxidation reaction.
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