Effect of gamma irradiation on poly(butylene naphthalate) based polyesters

The present work investigates the effect of gamma radiation on the properties of three naphthalate-based polyesters, i.e. poly(butylene naphthalate) (PBN), poly(diethylene naphthalate) (PDEN) and poly(thiodiethylene naphthalate) (PTDEN). In addition, the analogous terephthalate-based polymers of PDEN and PTDEN, i.e. poly(diethylene terephthalate) (PDET) and poly(thiodiethylene terephthalate) (PTDET), are also investigated, in order to check the effect of a lower number of aromatic rings. All the polymers, irradiated in air at different absorbed doses, were characterized by several techniques. The data obtained indicate that all the polymers, except PBN, show a decrease of molecular weight with the dose increase. The thermal behavior and the morphology confirm the previous results and show that the higher the crystallinity degree and number of aromatic rings, the higher the radiation resistance. The introduction of heteroatoms decreases the ability of a polymer to crystallize due to a reduction of polymer chain symmetry, thus worsening their radiation resistance.