NONEQUILIBRIUM DISSOCIATION OF CELLULOSE NITRATE MACROMOLECULES BY RESONANT IR LASER-LIGHT

A nonequilibrium dissociation of polymer macromolecules in the condens ed phase by resonant IR laser light has been observed. The effect stem s from particular features of the absorption of laser light by irregul arities of the supermolecular structure of polymer chains and of the r elaxation of vibrational energy along the long macromolecules of an am orphous-crystalline polymer. The extent to which the dissociation devi ates from equilibrium increases with increasing disorder of the macrom olecules.