The sol/gel contribution to the behavior of γ‐irradiated poly(vinylidene fluoride)

摘要

AbstractPoly(vinylidene fluoride) films were γ‐irradiated in the dose range of 1–20 Mrad, resulting in up to 74 gel. The irradiated polymer undergoes both crosslinking and chain scission, about 5 : 3 events, respectively. Swelling measurements indicate an increasing crosslink density with the gel content, already at the lower doses. Thermal analysis of the gel fraction and the unextracted irradiated samples shows that although crosslinking affects the crystallization, degree of crystallinity, and the melting characteristics, the behavior of the crosslinked material is predominantly controlled by the extractable sol fraction which consists of the more mobile original chains, branched chains, and degraded ones. The crosslinks, already at low density, retard the development of ordinary crystalline polymer morpho