Peroxy Radical Formation from Plasma-Induced Surface Radicals of Polyethylene As Studied by Electron Spin Resonance

Abstract

The nature of peroxy radical formation from plasma-induced surface radicals of polyethylene (PE), both low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE), was studied by electron spin resonance with the aid of systematic computer simulations. It was found that peroxy radical formation varies with the structure of component radicals of plasma-irradiated PE, both LDPE and HDPE: Among three plasma-induced radicals of PE, dangling bond sites (DBS) undergo an instant conversion into the corresponding peroxy radicals in contact with oxygen, while the midchain alkyl radical is of very low reactivity with oxygen in both LDPE and HDPE. Computer simulations disclosed that ESR spectra of peroxy radicals are similar to each other in LDPE and HDPE, both being composed of two types of spectra, a partial g-averaging anisotropic spectrum and a nearly isotropic single line spectrum due to different molecular motional freedom at the trapping sites of peroxy radicals.