Effect of Electron Beam Irradiation on Mechanical and Dielectric Properties of Polypropylene Films

In the present investigation the effect of electron beam irradiation on the mechanical properties of thin films of Polypropylene (PP) were measured. The dielectric properties of PP films were carried out in the frequency range from 20 Hz to 1 MHz at various DC bias potential. All measurements were carried out at room temperature. It is found that the electron beam irradiation caused an increase in Young's Modulus of PP film dose of up to 70 kGy were applied, but tensile strength and % elongation at break were found to be decrease with the increasing dose rate. The significant changes were observed in the case of dielectric constant and dielectric loss for electron irradiated PP films. The DSC results indicate that irradiation on PP films changes the thermal behavior. Minor differences in FTIR spectra were observed after irradiation treatment. It is observed that, the effect of radiation damage results in improvement in mechanical strength of the films. The increased dielectric constant and dependence of the bias voltage in case of irradiated and unirradiated PP films has been reported. It is suggested that, the PP films modified with the electron beam irradiation can be used as a good dielectric material for different electronic devices. (C) 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 119: 1220-1229, 2011