Evaluation of physico-chemical properties of electron beam-irradiated polycarbonate film

In this work, polycarbonate (PC) film samples were irradiated with 10 MeV electrons at different doses ranging from 25 to 250 kGy. Characterization techniques viz. thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) were exploited to understand the induced changes in the physico-chemical properties of the polymer. An increase in the decomposition temperature with increasing dose was observed, while the crystallinity remained unchanged as a result of the formation of cross-link bond. EPR technique characterized the stability of the free radicals in the irradiated PC. The result showed that cross-linking process occurs at low absorbed doses, whereas polymer degradation happens at higher doses. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.