Crosslinking of commercial polyethylenes by 10 MeV electrons

Commercial polyethylenes were irradiated with 10 MeV electrons to induce crosslinking. The gel fraction data measured as a function of total dose suggests that crosslinking proceeds on irradiation, as expected. A number of the properties of the irradiated polyethylenes, such as the degree of oxidation, crystallinity and thermal degradation, were studied by Fourier transform infrared/photo acoustic spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and a pyrolysis technique coupled with gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. The results of this study suggest that commercial polyethylenes can be crosslinked to a gel fraction of ∼70%, required for wire and cable applications, by 10 MeV electrons. (author). 35 refs., 6 figs