SOLVENT-INDUCED TRACK SENSITIZATION - ROLE OF AMINES

A necessary condition for etching of particle tracks in polymers is th e selective removal of molecular fragments formed along the ion path. Until recently it was assumed that solvent induced track sensitization by N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) in poly(ethyleneterephthalate) (PET) r emoves oligomers from the track core exclusively via a dissolution pro cess. The present study shows that degradation products of DMF, in par ticular amines, are also involved in the sensitization process. For th is purpose, the chemical interaction of amines with heavy ion irradiat ed PET was examined by various techniques. It was shown that amines in duce a selective track ''pre-etching''. Compared with pure DMF, the tr ack etching rate increases with amine concentration.