The Influence of Morphology on the Electrical Properties of 10MeV Electron Beam Irradiated Polyethylene/ethylene-vinyl-acetate Blends (PE/EVA)

In this work a series of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) blends with different percentages of poly (ethylene-vinyl-acetate) (EVA) were prepared. The samples were irradiated under the 10 MeV electron beam in the range of 70-170 kGy. We observed by scanning electron microscope (SEM) that the morphological pattern of the blended sample after and before irradiation. It was concluded that the homogeneous pattern can be obtain in at least 30% of EVA in the blend and cross-linking makes the pattern more homogeneous especially at~170 kGy. The variations of surface and volume resistance of the irradiated samples were also studied as a function of EVA content and the radiation dose. It was revealed that the surface and volume resistance of the blends are maximum at~170 kGy of radiation dose and 30 wt % of EVA.