Energy deposition, alternative methods

The term "pressure-sensitive adhesive" (PSA) refers to a permanently tacky composition which will adhere to a variety of surfaces merely by application of light hand pressure. Such materials find widespread application in tapes labels, wall coverings, floor tiles, and protective maskings (1). Typical property requirements for various pressure-sensitive products are shown in Table 1. For decades, such products have been manufactured by the deposition of preformed polymers from solution. However, as concern over energy and environmental problems began to surface, the pressure to find alternate methods of manufacture intensified and the use of solvents declined. The use of radiation to cure such materials in place is but one alternate to the conventional solvent-based approach. 

Performing an accurate dosimetry is a prerequisite of any radiolysis study. However, all standard chemical dosimetry methods cannot be used in nanoporous media, as they all rely on known radiolytic yields that are expected to be modified by confinement. An alternative would be to use Monte Carlo particle transport code (i.e. MNCP, EGS4, Geant, Penelope) that allows a calculation of the deposited dose. PENELOPE (Penetration and Energy Loss of Positrons and Electrons) has especially proven to be efficient in microdosimetric calculations.This code can treat electron propagation down to 100 eV, for any material. Therefore, these simulations cannot handle sub-nanometric pore and do not take into account the fact that for certain materials pore diameter is smaller than spurs and/or track size. For nanometric to micrometric pores, the approximation usually proposed is to correct the dose by the mean density of the system... 

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