XRD investigation of thermal degradation of some gamma-irradiated polyethylene terephthalate samples

Abstract

The modification of local structure of some commercial polyethylene terephthalate (PET) samples, gamma irradiated at different doses, was investigated by X-ray diffraction method before and after thermal treatment. Before the thermal treatment, the samples exposed to different doses of gamma radiations, does not show noticeable structural changes. However, the gamma exposure affects the thermal behavior of samples submitted to melting–cooling process. These modifications have been highlighted by X-ray diffraction, and confirmed also by thermal analysis and electron spin resonance spectroscopy.