Fast neutron irradiation effects in PM-355 nuclear track detector

Samples from sheets of the polymeric material PM-355 have been exposed to neutrons of incident energy in the range 0.8–19.2 MeV. The resultant effect of neutron irradiation on the thermal properties of PM-355 has been investigated using thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA). The onset temperature of decomposition To and thermal activation energy of decomposition Ea were calculated, results indicating that the PM-355 detector decomposes in two weight loss stages. The variation of transition temperatures with neutron energy has been determined using differential thermal analysis (DTA). The results indicate the PM-355 thermograms to be characterized by the appearance of an endothermic peak due to melting. Melting temperature was found to be dependent on the neutron energy. In addition, structural property studies using X-ray diffraction and infrared spectroscopy were performed on both non-irradiated PM-355 samples and all of the samples that were irradiated. The results indicate that both the degree of ordering and the absorbance of the PM-355 polymer are dependent on neutron energy.