Effect of irradiation on mechanical and structural properties of ethylene vinyl acetate copolymers hollow fibers

Effect of irradiation on mechanical and structural properties of ethylene vinyl acetate copolymers (EVA) hollow fibers was studied by the tests such as determination of gel content, density, tensile, FTIR, SEM, and DMA. These effects were discussed based on dose and irradiation environment. The results of gel content depicted that irradiated EVA in ambient conditions had tendency to chain scission while the crosslinking overcame in irradiated samples under nitrogen. Density insignificantly enhanced with irradiation dose. In tensile test, irradiation induced increase in tensile strength and decrease in elongation at break (especially in samples irradiated in nitrogen). Also, changing in layer orientation could be observed by SEM images. In addition, irradiation caused altering peak intensity in FTIR spectrum. DMA results demonstrated that irradiation broaden the elastic zone. Totally, irradiation enhances features especially in irradiated EVA18 in nitrogen. Since, according to stabilization of induced deformation and improvement of mechanical properties (that created by radiation), the irradiated samples can be used in different applications. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011