PNNL

Abstract

AES spectra of spun-cast films of poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) and poly(acrylonitrile) (PAN) were collected over a period of time to determine specimen damage during exposure to a 10kV electron beam. For the PVC, loss of chlorine was observed over a period of 203 minutes to the extent that the final chlorine concentration was only 20% of its original value. PAN exhibited a loss in nitrogen content over a period of 120 minutes, but the rate of damage to the polymer was significantly less than PVC. Figure 1 shows the atomic concentration in the PVC film as a function of dose (time). It takes a dose of approximately 7.0x10-5 Ccm-5 for the chlorine concentration to fall from its original value by 10% (one definition of critical dose). Figure 2 shows a similar drop in nitrogen concentration in the PAN film as a function of dose. For this polymer, it takes a dose of 1.3x10-3 Ccm-2 for the nitrogen concentration to fall by 10%.