STUDY OF γ-IRRADIATED POLYETHYLENE TEREPHTHALATE POLYMER BY EPR METHOD

Non-irradiated and irradiated in a vacuum with 60Co γ-rays at various absorption doses samples of waste polymer Polythylene terephthalate (PET) were studied at room temperature using an X-band electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) radiospectrometer. The paramagnetic centers responsible for the spectral lines observed in the EPR spectra were identified, and the mechanism for the intensity variation of EPR spectra with different absorption doses was explained. The nature and structure of macroradicals in PET samples were determined, revealing that the chemical source of the observed EPR spectrum is cyclohexadienyl type macroradicals formed under the influence of γ-rays in the polymer chain.