| Abstract: | Electron-spin resonance (ESR) and altraviolet (UV) visible spectroscopic evidence has been found for the formation of diene, triene and tetraene, following the irradiation of polyethylene in the presence of acetylene. The polyenes are formed by a mechanism which is different from that observed under vacuum or with inert gas saturation. The sum of the G (polyene) values obtained by UV spectroscopy is almost half that of initial radical formation. It is concluded that polyene bridges, predominantly diene, form crosslinks between radical pairs. G (X) values determined from gel fraction data, using Saito-Kang-Dole theory, are found to be greatly in error and misrepresentative of crosslink changes. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. |
