Proton-induced changes in Bayfol CR1-4 nuclear track detector

Samples from the polymeric material Bayfol CR 1-4 have been exposed to 1 MeV protons with fluencies in the range 10(11)-10(14) ions/cm(2). The resultant effect of proton irradiation on the thermal properties of Bayfol CR 1-4 has been investigated using thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA). The onset temperature of decomposition T-0 and activation energy of thermal decomposition E-a were calculated, results indicated that the Bayfol detector decomposes in one weight loss stage. In addition, the structural modifications in the proton-irradiated Bayfol samples have been studied as a function of fluence using X-ray diffraction and intrinsic viscosity of the liquid samples. Furthermore, the refractive index was measured for the non-irradiated and irradiated Bayfol samples. The results indicated that the degradation is the dominant mechanism in the fluence range 1 x 10(11)-5 x 10(14) ions/cm(2). These results have been compared with those obtained in our previous work for Bayfol CR 6-2.