Post-irradiation stability of polyvinyl chloride at sterilizing doses

Post-irradiation stability of plasticized PVC irradiated by ⁶⁰Co gamma ray at sterilizing doses has been studied. Effects of irradiation upon chemical structure, mechanical properties and rheological behaviour of samples contained different amounts of Di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate as plasticizer have been investigated. Formation of conjugated double bonds, carbonyl and hydroxyl groups have been followed by UV and FTIR spectrometers up to 6 months after irradiation. FTIR spectra of irradiated samples showed no significant changes in carbonyl and hydroxyl groups even 6 months after irradiation. However, changes in UV-visible spectra was observed for the irradiated samples up to 6 months post-irradiation. This has been attributed to the formation of polyenes which leads to the discoloration of this polymer. Despite a certain degree of discoloration, it appears that the mechanical properties of PVC are not affected by irradiation at sterilizing doses. No change in the melt viscosity of the irradiated PVC samples with post-irradiation was observed, which is in consistent with the IR results.