Effect of electron irradiation on the structure and mechanical properties of fluoroplastic composite with tungsten oxide

Abstract The paper presents the results of the study of the effect of electron irradiation on PTFE composite material containing tungsten (VI) oxide. The physical and mechanical characteristics of the material with 60 wt% of filling have been studied, the density is 3.4 ± 0.02 g cm −3 , Vickers hardness is 5.4 ± 0.32 HV, flexural strength is 19 ± 0.95 MPa. The material was irradiated with electrons at the Microtron-ST accelerator an electron beam of 21 MeV energy and 5 μA current. The XRD results of the composite material containing 60 wt% WO 3 after electron irradiation show broadening of the peaks, which indicates the deformation of the crystal lattice and indicates a change in the degree of crystallinity of the PTFE component. The results of investigation of FTIR spectra of PTFE and composite material containing 60 wt% WO 3 before and after electron irradiation are presented. Electron irradiation of pure PTFE led to changes in the intensity of some bands in the FTIR spectrum. In particular, the changes were more prominent in the range from 525 to 800 cm −1 . In the case of the composite material, the change in the intensity of the FTIR spectrum was less pronounced. TGA of the composite material containing 60 wt% WO 3 before and after irradiation showed no significant changes. The influence of different doses of electron irradiation on thermophysical properties of PTFE and composite material containing 60 wt% WO 3 was studied. It is shown that under electron irradiation at a dose of 2 MGy the strength of the pure PTFE sample decreases 2.8 times. For the composite containing 60 wt% WO 3 , the bending strength after irradiation with electrons at a dose of 2 MGy was 46% of the initial strength of the composite that was not irradiated.