Effect of large dosage irradiation in air on polyethylene

The large dosage irradiation effect on polyethylene in air was examined by the method of double irradition. Polyethylene was first irradiated with γ‐rays to a dosage of a few hundred Mrad in air at 298°K. The formed radicals were destroyed, and the polymer, changed chemically and morphologically, was irradiated again in vacuo at 77°K with a dose of 12.7 Mrad. The thermal decay of radicals produced in polyethylene by the second irrdiation was investigated. The results were compared with the sample not exposed to the first irradiation. The results were also compared with previous data of polyethylene irradiated in vacuo to a great extent and then treated in the same manner as that in the present experiment. The results show that scission of the polymer chain by oxidation makes the radical decay faster. Simultaneously, crosslinks formed in polyethylene irradiated in air to a great extent slow down the radical decay. Almost the same number of double bonds was formed in polyethylene irradiated in air as in polyethylene irradiated in vacuo. These double bonds react with alkyl radicals to form allyl radicals.