Modifications induced by gamma irradiation upon structural, optical and chemical properties of polyamide nylon-6,6 polymer

Abstract

The effects of gamma rays were studied on the optical, structural and chemical properties of the PA-66 polymer samples. The polymer samples obtained from Goodfellow (Cambridge, UK) were irradiated with gamma rays at various doses ranging from 100 to 1250 kGy. The pristine and gamma rays irradiated samples were characterized by UV–visible (UV–VIS) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. UV–VIS shows a shift in absorption toward the visible region for irradiated samples and a decrease in band gap energy (E_g). The XRD analyses show an increase in the crystalline nature of the polymer at higher doses as a result of significant decrease in the peak width of XRD patterns. The FTIR spectra show decrease in intensity and shift of various bands with increase in gamma dose.

Keywords:

• polyamide nylon-6,6
• gamma irradiation
• X-ray diffraction
• UV–visible
• infrared spectrophotometry

Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to Dr S.P. Lochab for providing gamma irradiation facilities at the Inter University Accelerator Centre (IUAC), New Delhi, India. The characterization techniques provided by IUAC, New Delhi, India, is gratefully acknowledged.