Swift heavy ion induced modification in PET: Structural and thermal properties

• DOI: 10.1016/j.nimb.2005.11.039
• Publication Date: 2006-01-11T09:36:36Z
• Authors: Virendra Singh; Tejvir Singh; Amita Chandra; S.K. Bandyopadhyay; Pintu Sen; K. Witte; U.W. Scherer; Alok Srivastava
• Keywords: Swift heavy ion

Abstract Films of 12 μm thickness of the polymer polyethylene terephthalate (PET) were exposed to swift heavy ions of silicon with energies ranging from 44 MeV to 120 MeV and total ion fluence ranging between 1011 and 1013 ions/cm2. The structural properties were investigated using Fourier transform infra red (FT-IR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques whereas the thermal studies were carried out employing differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). It was noticed that in general irradiation of PET by swift heavy ions of silicon led to the transformation of the polymer into a disordered amorphous state. However, at low fluence, some degree of ordering was noticed as reflected from new peak appearing in the XRD pattern. Around 35% decrease in the crystallite size was observed at the highest fluence. The observation of a mixture of different endotherms arising due to series of melting points at lower temperatures gave further evidence to the observation stated above. The results obtained in the present work are discussed in the light of similar studies reported in literature on other polymers irradiated with low and high energy radiations.