The use of polymers for solar photochemistry. Application of ionizing radiation methods for the binding of functional groups to polymers

The application of polymers for photochemical energy storage is described. A system is reported which enables the storage of energy for a time period in the range of minutes. Such systems require polymers covalently linked to specific functional groups, which is the only way to achieve linkage between a polymeric ion and a specific group which possess the same electric charge. In systems where the binding is a result of electrostatic interactions only, a local opposite field exists at the site of the reaction. In such cases, the retardation is by 2-3 orders of magnitude as compared with 6-7 orders which is observed in covalently linked systems. A method based on application of ionizing radiation for the formation of covalent links between a polymer, and a functional molecule is reported. It requires pulse radiolytic investigations of the chemical kinetics in polymer solutions as well as in the solutions of the functional molecules. The advantage of the radiation induced method is that it enables the use of natural polymers. It can be applied to fields other than photochemical storage of energy, such as preparation of model systems for biological and medical research, on line analysis and specific interactions. (author). 18 refs, 5 figs