THERMAL STUDIES ON UNIRRADIATED AND GAMMA-IRRADIATED POLYMER OF ALLYLDIGLYCOL CARBONATE

The thermal decomposition of unirradiated and gamma-irradiated (5.93-1 5.5 MRad dose range) allyl diglycol carbonate polymer (trade name, CR- 39) was studied by thermogravimetry (TG) and differential thermal anal ysis (DTA). These studies indicate four main decomposition steps in CR -39 polymer in air. Assessment of the influence of radiation dose on t he above range shows that while the 5.93 MRad gamma-irradiated polymer CR-39 degrades in three steps, the 15.5 MRad gamma-irradiated polymer degrades in only two steps. The kinetics of the different stages of d egradation were also evaluated from the TG curves. Irradiation enhance s the decomposition rate and the effect increases further with increas ing radiation dose. The activation energy values calculated for all th e decomposition stages decrease on irradiation.