Synthesis of functional materials by radiation

The radiation can induce chemical reaction to modify polymer under even the solid condition or in the low temperature. Therefore, the radiation processing is used as the means to develop the high functional polymer and new material which is impossible by chemical process. The radiation grafting process has the advantage to endow the adsorption function to the existing materials such as polymer membrane, fabric, non-fabric, non-woven fabric and film. Radiation crosslinking is effected with no pressure and is performed at low temperatures. Thus, temperature sensitive additives can be used in radiation crosslinking. The radiation crosslinking and grafting can be easily adjusted and is easily reproducible by controlling the radiation dose. The finished product contains no residuals of substances required to initiate the chemical crosslinking and grafting which can restrict the application possibilities, or can increase the failure rate. In these studies, radiation grafting and crosslinking were used to develop the toxic gas adsorbent, blood compatible polymer, acetabular cup of artificial joint, urokinase adsorbent, hydrogel, hollow fiber membrane adsorbing the heavy metals, and battery separator membrane. Because cable in nuclear power plant is directly related to safe operation, the life assessment of the cable system is an important issue. To assess the degradation and life time of cable is complicated owing to the various types and the different formulation of cable. In order to make an estimate the long term degradation occurring in a material, it is necessary to carry out the accelerated aging studies and to establish the appropriate test method to characterize the degradation. These studies are aimed at the evaluation technique on radiation degradation of polymer material and applying these results to nuclear equipment qualification