Nano-indentation test of electron beam irradiated polyamide 11

Abstract

This article deals with the influence of electron beam radiation on nano-mechanical properties and the structure of polyamide 11. Crosslinking of polymers is a process, during which macromolecular chains start to connect to each other and the spatial network creates in the structure. During the action of the ionizing radiation two actions can occur: crosslinking and scission of macromolecules – degradation. Both these processes run parallel. Using the crosslinking technology the standard and construction polymer can obtain the more “expensive” high-tech polymeric materials properties and thus replace these materials in many applications. Tested material was irradiated by different doses of beta radiation (33, 66 and 99 kGy). The nano-mechanical properties were measured using DSI method, which fluently records the change of the indentation in time. From this dependence it is possible to determine nano-mechanical properties such as indentation hardness, indentation modulus etc. During results consideration it is obvious that irradiation acts on each polymer differently, but always when the optimal dose was found, nano-mechanical properties increased up to 34 %. The changes of nano-mechanical properties were confirmed by structural measurement when the change of hardness and modulus corresponded to gel content.