Modification of thermal, optical and structural properties of Bayfol nuclear track detector by alpha particles irradiation

The effect of alpha particle dose on the thermal, optical and structural properties of Bayfol solid state nuclear track detector (SSNTD) was investigated. Non-isothermal studies were carried out using thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential thermal gravimetric (DTG) to obtain the activation energy of decomposition for Bayfol detector. TGA indicates that the Bayfol samples decompose in one main breakdown stage. Samples from 250 pm thickness sheets were exposed to alpha particles in the dose range of 3.5-67.03 Gy. The variation of transition temperatures with the alpha particle dose has been determined using differential thermal analysis (DTA). The results indicate that the irradiation with alpha particles in the dose range of 26.81-67.03 Gy decreases the melting temperature of the Bayfol samples and this is most suitable for applications requiring the molding of this polymer at lower temperatures. The alpha particle dose gives advantage for increasing the correlation between melting temperatures and the amount of crystalline regions that is related to both cross-linking and degradation phenomena. In addition, optical and structural property studies using refractive index, IR spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction measurements were performed on non-irradiated and irradiated Bayfol samples. The results indicate that the anisotropic character, absorbance and the degree of ordering of the Bayfol polymer are dependent on the alpha particle dose. (c) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.