Polymer scavenger 806 INDEX

The main-chain scission yield was recently compared at room and liquid nitrogen temperatures [415] in the presence of a large number of additives known as radical, cation or electron scavengers. The results are given in Table 31. The protection index, in this case defined as 100(7V0 — N)/N where N0 and N are the number of scissions per chain in the absence and in the presence of additive, respectively, is nearly independent of the irradiation temperature marked protection is observed for all the additives studied with the exception of nitrous oxide. It must therefore be concluded that the mechanism of main-chain scission is identical at room and liquid nitrogen temperatures and that ions and radicals are involved in the radiolysis. A detailed study of the effect of ethyl mercaptan on main-chain scission and volatile formation was then undertaken [395]. About 75% protection of main-chain scission was obtained at 313 and at 77°K when the polymer contained 1.49 wt. % of ethyl mercaptan the protection index increases to 90% for concentrations of the order of 10 wt. %. The yield of volatile products was, however, unaltered by the presence of 1.5 wt. % ethyl mercaptan. 

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