Abstract
The structural modifications of polymers irradiated with 14 MeV neutrons were studied. Two elastomers, a polypropylene-type polymer and poly(ethylene oxide) were exposed to low doses of fast neutrons in the range of 0.3-14 Gy. The radiation damages were observed at the molecular scale by infrared spectroscopy. The morphological changes were investigated by steric exclusion chromatography, insoluble fraction measurements, differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray diffraction. It was found that neutrons provoked oxidation processes accompanied by modifications in the polymer architecture, including chain scissions, crosslinking reactions and changes in the crystallinity. Moreover, the conventional antioxidants were shown to be inefficient in inhibiting the aging of the polymers. These results also suggest that the radiation damages could be used successfully for dosimetry applications using an easily implementable protocol.
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