Evolution of the degradation and oxidation of polyurethane versus the electron irradiation parameters: Fluence, flux and temperature

In this paper, investigation has been performed on thermoplastic and aromat ic polyurethane (PU) irradiated by an electron beam with an energy of 200 k eV. The changes in chemical structure resulting from the irradiation were d etermined using FTIR spectroscopy. This study has allowed us to highlight t he polymer degradation versus depth, fluence, electron flux and temperature by following the decrease in the NH band intensity. Results showed that de gradation of the PU reached a maximum at a depth of about 200 mum, and that these effects are quantifiable up to 500 I-lm Moreover, the results also s howed that the fluence, electron flux and temperature increase led to an in crease in the degradation of the polymer. The oxidation was equally studied versus the same parameters by following the increase in the OH band intens ity. This study produced the opposite results except for the temperature. W hen the temperature increased, the polymer oxidation seemed to decrease. (C ) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.