Abstract
RECENTLY the solubility behaviour of irradiated polymers has been analysed theoretically by Charlesby and Pinner1. The soluble fraction (s) of a cross-linked network of macromolecular material, initially of randomly distributed molecular weights, can be written: 
where δn, the cross -linking coefficient, is the average number of cross-linked units per number average molecule, and p and q are the fracture and cross-linking densities respectively. Assuming that p and q are proportional to the radiation dose r, then the sol fraction is related to the densities of fracture per unit dose (p
0) and cross-links per unit dose (q
0), by the equation: 
where u
1 is the number average degree of polymerization. Charlesby and Pinner applied their treatment to experimental results on polyethylene, polyvinyl acetate and other polymers.
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References
Charlesby, A., and Pinner, S. H., Proc. Roy. Soc. A., 249, 367 (1959).
Atchison, G. J., J. Polymer Sci., 35, 557 (1959).
Charlesby, A., Atomics, 5, 12 (1954). Mullins, L., and Turner, D. T., Nature, 183, 1547 (1959).
Sheppard, N., and Sutherland, G. B. B. M., J. Chem. Soc., 1699 (1947).
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HAYDEN, P. Estimation of Chain Fracture and Cross-Linking of Rubber by High-energy Radiation. Nature 184, 1865–1866 (1959). https://doi.org/10.1038/1841865b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/1841865b0
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