Thermal properties of isotactic polypropylene degraded with gamma irradiation

We discuss some thermal properties, as well as the thermal stability, of ir radiated isotactic polypropylene. Sol-gel analysis showed that, despite the fact that irradiation doses were relatively high, no gel was formed. Value s for DSC melting temperature, specific enthalpy of melting, crystallizatio n temperature and crystallization enthalpy are different for the first and second scan, but the trend was similar. The melting temperature and specifi c melting enthalpy decreased with an increase in irradiation dose. TGA resu lts showed that irradiation lowered the thermal stability of PP. (C) 2001 E lsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.