EPR study of the relationship between ultra high molecular weight polyethylene structure and radicals formed during irradiation with high energy sources

Abstract

This is the author's final version of the contribution published as: Brunella, Valentina; Paganini, Maria Cristina. EPR study of the relationship between ultra high molecular weight polyethylene structure and radicals formed during irradiation with high energy sources. AbstractThree different samples of ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) have been irradiated with high energy source (electron beam) and radicals have been generated. Different radical species have been assigned on the basis of their EPR spectra. EPR data have been used also to evaluate the amount of each kind of radicals that have been generated on different starting materials. The structure of the polymer (number of double bonds, or crystallinity) is strictly connected to the response of the sample itself to the irradiation. A rationalization between these different parameters have been performed in order to evaluate the stability of polymer samples towards high energy irradiation processes.