Degradation of polyacrylonitrile by low energy ion beam and UV radiation

The induced degradation by low energy argon ion beam and UV radiation of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) as thin discs, was investigated using IR and DC electrical conductivity. The influence of ion beam on the PAN is more effective compared with UV radiation. The IR spectra of the irradiated PAN shows new bands, such as NH, NH2, and CC groups, as a consequence of intramolecular cyclization and conjugated polyene formation. The Arrhenius plots of electrical conductivity for irradiated and non-irradiated polymers, showed a relatively higher resistivity for irradiated samples. The DC electrical conductivity of 1 h ion beam irradiated samples decreased from 2.56×10−7 s/m to 1.23×10−10 s/m, while it decreased to 3.12×10−10 and 2.21×10−10 s/m upon UV irradiation, for 8 h and 16 h exposure times respectively. This behavior was attributed to the formation of a crosslinked surface layer in the polymer structure