FAST NEUTRON IRRADIATION INDUCED CHANGES IN THE OPTICAL AND THERMAL PROPERTIES OF MODIFIED POLYVINYL CHLORIDE

摘要

The effect of both dopant and neutron radiation on the optical and thermal properties of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) has been studied. The doped samples with Pb and Cd were irradiated with a 14 MeV-neutron fluence in the range 7-28.8 x 10~9 n/cm~2. The optical energy gap E_(op) exhibits a significant dependence on the type of additive and the neutron irradiation fluence. The specific heat at constant pressure C_p showed a nonmonotonical change with radiation fluence. The results of this study show that PVCPb behaves as a crystalline structure which is only slightly affected by neutron irradiation, while PVC:Cd is highly affected.