A study of the UV and VUV degradation of FEP

UV and VUV degradation of fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP) copolymer was studied using electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The ESR study revealed the formation of a terminal polymer radical. The stability of this radical was investigated under different environments. An XPS study of FEP film exposed to VUV and atomic oxygen showed that oxidation takes place on the polymer surface. The study revealed also that the percentage of CF2 in the polymer surface decreased with exposure time and the percentage of CF, CF3, and carbon attached to oxygen increased. SEM micrographs of FEP film exposed to VUV and atomic oxygen identified a rough surface with undulations similar to sand dunes

The surface properties of fluorinated polyimides exposed to VUV and atomic oxygen

The effect of atomic oxygen flux and VUV radiation alone and in combination on the surface of fluorinated polyimide films was studied using XPS spectroscopy. Exposure of fluorinated polyimides to VUV radiation alone caused no observable damage to the polymer surface, while an atomic oxygen flux resulted in substantial oxidation of the surface. On the other hand, exposure to VUV radiation and atomic oxygen in combination caused extensive oxidation of the polymer surface after only 2 minutes of exposure. The amount of oxidized carbon on the polymer surface indicated that there is aromatic ring opening oxidation. The changes in the O1s/C1s, N1s/C1s, and F1s/C1s ratios suggested that an ablative degradation process is highly favorable. A synergistic effect of VUV radiation in the presence of atomic oxygen is clearly evidenced from the XPS study. The atomic oxygen could be considered as the main factor in the degradation process of fluorinated polyimide films exposed to a low earth orbit environment

The effect of simulated low earth orbit radiation on polyimides (UV degradation study)

UV degradation of polyimide films in air and vacuum were studied using UV-visible, ESR, FTIR, and XPS spectroscopies. The UV-visible spectra of polyimide films showed a blue shift in the absorption compared to Kapton. This behavior was attributed to the presence of bulky groups and kinks along the polymer chains which disrupt the formation of a charge transfer complex. The UV-visible spectra showed also that UV irradiation of polyimides result extensively in surface degradation, leaving the bulk of the polymer intact. ESR spectra of polyimides irradiated in vacuum revealed the formation of stable carbon-centered radicals which give a singlet ESR spectrum, while polyimides irradiated in air produced an asymmetric signal shifted to a lower magnetic field, with a higher g value and line width. This signal was attributed to oxygen-cenetered radicals of peroxy and/or alkoxy type. The rate of radical formation in air was two fold higher than for vacuum irradiation, and reached a plateau after a short time. This suggests a continuous depletion of radicals on the surface via an ablative degradation process. FTIR, XPS, and weight loss studies supported this postulate. An XPS study of the surface indicated a substantial increase in the surface oxidation after irradiation in air. The sharp increase in the C-O binding energy peak relative to the C-C peak was believed to be associated with an aromatic ring opening reaction

Assessing Causality in the Relationship Between Adolescents’ Risky Sexual Online Behavior and Their Perceptions of this Behavior

The main aim of this study was to investigate the causal nature of the relationship between adolescents’ risky sexual behavior on the internet and their perceptions of this behavior. Engagement in the following online behaviors was assessed: searching online for someone to talk about sex, searching online for someone to have sex, sending intimate photos or videos to someone online, and sending one’s telephone number and address to someone exclusively known online. The relationship between these behaviors and adolescents’ perceptions of peer involvement, personal invulnerability, and risks and benefits was investigated. A two-wave longitudinal study among a representative sample of 1,445 Dutch adolescents aged 12–17 was conducted (49% females). Autoregressive cross-lagged structural equation models revealed that perceived peer involvement, perceived vulnerability, and perceived risks were all significant predictors of risky sexual online behavior 6 months later. No reverse causal paths were found. When the relationships between perceptions and risky sexual online behavior were modeled simultaneously, only perceived peer involvement was a determinant of risky sexual online behavior. Findings highlight the importance of addressing peer involvement in future interventions to reduce adolescents’ risky sexual online behavior

Dimethyl fumarate in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised, controlled, open-label, platform trial

Dimethyl fumarate (DMF) inhibits inflammasome-mediated inflammation and has been proposed as a treatment for patients hospitalised with COVID-19. This randomised, controlled, open-label platform trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy [RECOVERY]), is assessing multiple treatments in patients hospitalised for COVID-19 (NCT04381936, ISRCTN50189673). In this assessment of DMF performed at 27 UK hospitals, adults were randomly allocated (1:1) to either usual standard of care alone or usual standard of care plus DMF. The primary outcome was clinical status on day 5 measured on a seven-point ordinal scale. Secondary outcomes were time to sustained improvement in clinical status, time to discharge, day 5 peripheral blood oxygenation, day 5 C-reactive protein, and improvement in day 10 clinical status. Between 2 March 2021 and 18 November 2021, 713 patients were enroled in the DMF evaluation, of whom 356 were randomly allocated to receive usual care plus DMF, and 357 to usual care alone. 95% of patients received corticosteroids as part of routine care. There was no evidence of a beneficial effect of DMF on clinical status at day 5 (common odds ratio of unfavourable outcome 1.12; 95% CI 0.86-1.47; p = 0.40). There was no significant effect of DMF on any secondary outcome

The influence of the draw ratio of melt‐spun polyethylene fibres on γ‐irradiation induced effects as observed by ESR

The influence of draw ratio on free radical behaviour in melt‐spun polyethylene fibres has been examined using ESR spectroscopy. The stability of free radicals produced by γ‐irradiation is greatest some where between draw ratio 1 and 10. The general trend of radical stability has been found to correlate with the trend of gel content with draw ratio. The possible link between the extent of crosslinking and the production of stable radicals has been discussed in terms of morphological aspects. Copyrigh

Post‐gamma‐irradiation grafting of polypropylene. Part II. Butadiene: E.S.R. experiments

ESR spectra of gamma irradiated annealed and quenched forms of polypropylene film have been studied at the temperatures used for post‐irradiation grafting experiments with butadiene, described in Part I. On warming from low temperature there is radical loss by termination and some radical transformation to radicals with optimum stability in annealed polypropylene at approximately 45°C. These radicals, which may be allyl type, are sited at the crystal faces, and decay more rapidly at higher temperatures in annealed polypropylene; in quenced polypropylene their concentration never exceeds one third the optimum observed in annealed polypropylene. Correlation with the grafting experiments suggests that allyl radicals are important for long‐term grafting. Effects on the ESR spectrum of adding butadiene to the system show that in the long‐term butadiene adds exclusively to the allyl radicals and that alkyl radicals still present at that stage are precursors to the allyl radicals. They do not react directly with butadiene presumably because they are sited in the inaccessible crystal core. Experiments at lower temperature show that butadiene does react with alkyl radicals in accessible regions

An investigation of γ-irradiated poly(methacrylonitrile) by electron spin resonance spectroscopy

The radiation chemistry of poly(methacrylonitrile), which was γ-irradiated at different temperatures (-196°C, room temperature, 60°C, 100°C and 130°C) and with different radiation doses, has been studied by electron spin resonance (e.s.r.) spectroscopy. When γ-irradiated at -196°C, radical anions and neutral radicals were formed. Warming the sample from -53 to -3°C resulted in the conversion of the imide radical to the scission radical. The radical anions were found to decay in the temperature range from -196 to -100°C. On annealing the sample to 23°C, an e.s.r. spectrum similar to that obtained on γ-irradiation at room temperature was obtained. The G(R·) values have been determined to be 2.2 on γ-irradiation at -196°C and 2.8 at room temperature. From photobleaching, microwave power saturation and annealing experiments, the major radical intermediates and their reactivities have been identified

Radiation degradation of poly(arylene ether ketone)s

The resistance of five poly(arylene ether ketone)s with related chemical structures to degradation by ionizing radiation has been studied by ESR spectroscopy and yields of volatile products. All of the polymers showed high resistance to radiation with low yields of radicals after irradiation in vacuum at 77 K (when up to 84% of the radicals were identified as radical anions) and much lower yields at 300 K. The yields of volatile products were much less than reported for poly(arylene sulfone)s [1, 2]. Methyl substitution on a main‐chain aromatic ring decreased the radiation resistance, but methane only comprised 10% of the volatile products from the methyl‐substituted polymers. A polymer containing an isopropylidene group in the main chain and a substituent aromatic carbonyl showed significantly decreased radiation resistance. Extremely low radical yields were obtained after irradiation in air at 300 K, contrary to many polymers. XPS analysis showed an increase in C–O bonds on the surface after irradiation in air. Copyrigh