Crosslinking of rigid PVC by ionizing radiation to improve its thermal properties

Rigid PVC formulations containing two different stabilizer systems (tin and Ca/Zn) and TMPTMA as a crosslinking agent were treated with ionizing radiation (gamma and electron beam) at different doses and irradiation atmospheres. The objective was to increase thermal and mechanical properties of this material. Polyene formation was followed through the yellowing index (YI), the extent of crosslinking by gel percentage, thermal resistance by Vicat temperature and the mechanical properties by DMA. Both formulations became colored with irradiation, especially with gamma as a result of a longer treatment time; the gel formation and the Vicat temperature were also higher for gamma treated samples, suggesting that values were enhanced by oxidation. However, DMA elastic modulus traces were almost similar for both treatments. The main difference observed for Ca/Zn samples compared with traditional tin samples was the lower ability of the former system in protecting the material against processing conditions. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.