Radiation-Induced Changes in Organic Molecules

Electrical conductivity of a silicone network upon electron irradiation: influence of formulation

“…Pollak and Geballe rst noticed such frequency power laws on a pure silicon crystal at low temperature [14]. Later, Jonscher [15] proposed to generalise it to all disordered dielectric mat erials under the name 'universal dielectric relaxation response' as in (5).…”

“…Simultaneously, the charged particles from the space environ ment also produce radiation damage stemming from fundamental elastic (knock-on, Bremsstrahlung) and inelastic (excitation and ionization) interactions with the atoms of materials [3]. In organic materials, radiolysis caused by inelastic scattering of incident particles with atomic electrons surrounding each nucleus is generally accepted as the main degradation mechanism [4,5]. Due to radiolysis, bond breakages occur and lead to irreversible molecular rearrangements that underlie the concept of chemical ageing.…”