A STUDY OF THE ACTIVATION ENERGY OF THERMAL DECOMPOSITION OF IRRADIATED POLYMERS.

The ion irradiation of polymeric solids induces numerous modifications in the polymer properties thus increasing their applicability in various fields. The present work looks into the aspect of thermal modifications induced in the irradiated polymers. The kinetics of thermal decomposition of polymers is investigated by using the thermogravimetric (TG) technique, It has been observed that the degradation of polymers is a multi-step process that involves sequential and competing processes, and obeys the Arrhenius kinetics which allows us to connect the rate constant with the absolute temperature and the activation energy. The activation energy of thermal decomposition has been calculated from the TG curves, and its variation with different irradiation doses has been derived. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]