The transformations of organic polymers during the illumination by 147.0 and 123.6 nm light

The main features of photolysis of organic polymers by the light 147.0 and 123.6 nm (resonance xenon and krypton lamps respectively) were investigated by methods of anaylsis of gaseous products by mass spectrometry, of analysis of polymer transformation by UV and VUV absorption spectroscopy and of measurement of gel does. The quantum yields of main products were measured for photolysis of polyerthylene, polypropylene, polyisobutylene, polyisoprene, polybutadiene, silicone rubbers, polymethylmetacrylate and some other polymers. The quantum yields of products in the VUV photolysis are compared with radiation yields of these products in the radiolysis by gamma‐rays. The main difference between mechanisms of VUV photolysis and radiolysis consists in strong predominance of processes of molecular elimination in VUV photolysis in comparison with free radical processes. In contrast during the radiolysis these processes give approximately equal contributions. This difference is explained by reactions of photo excited singlet states of polymer molecules during photolysis while in the radiolysis the great contribution is given also by excited triplet and ionized states. In experiments with partially deuterated derivatives of polymethylmetacrylate the main channels of formation of formaldehyde, methylformate, methanol and methane were determined.