External factors like mechanical stress, temperature fluctuations, or radiation are known to create chemical changes in elastomeric network materials that can directly affect the molecular weight distribution (MWD) of the polymer between cross-links and alter the structural and mechanical properties. From a Materials Science point of view it is highly desirable to understand, effect, and manipulate such property changes in a controlled manner. In this work we expose a known rubber material to controlled dosages of gamma-radiation and utilize a newly developed multi-quantum NMR technique to characterize the MWD as a function of radiation. We show that such data along with mechanical stress-strain measurements are amenable to accurate analysis by simple network models, and yields important insights into radiation-induced molecular-level processes

Structural and mechanical effects of radiation exposure on filled elastomers: Recent insights from experiments and modeling

243rd National Meeting (2012)

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