Changes of crystallinity and unit cell parameters for a low-density polyethylene as a
consequence of cross-linking by dicumyl peroxide and by electron beam irradiations are compared.
Polyethylene samples cross-linked by irradiation in the solid state present variations essentially only of
the a unit cell parameter while those cross-linked in the melt state present similar variations of both a
and b unit cell parameters. A strict analogy with unit cell variations observed for ethene random
copolymers with propene and with bulkier comonomers, respectively, is shown. This suggests inclusion
of cross-links for solid-state cross-linked samples, which would lead to a gradual transformation from an
orthorhombic to a pseudohexagonal phase, and exclusion of cross-links for melt state cross-linked samples,
which would generate tensions at the orthorhombic crystallite interphases.
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