Physical and chemical response of polypropylene irradiated with 70 MeV carbon and 150 MeV nickel-ions

Polypropylene films were irradiated with C5+ (70 MeV) and Ni11+ (150 MeV) ions of varying fluence. The ion induced optical, chemical and structural changes were investigated using UV-Vis and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and X-ray diffractometry (XRD). UV-Vis data showed an increase of optical absorbance and a shift of the absorption edge towards the red end of the spectrum when the ion fluence was increased. This shift may be attributed to the greater degree of conjugation. FTIR analysis revealed the formation of alcoholic and ketonic groups. Significant loss of crystallinity occurred with increasing ion fluence.