Influence of UV and Gamma radiations on the induced birefringence of stretched poly(vinyl) alcohol foils

• Contact angle depends on solvent nature and on irradiation time.
• Induced birefringence increases with stretching ratio of PVA foils.
• Induced birefringence decreases due to the UV irradiation.
• Phenomena caused by Gamma radiation influence the induced birefringence.

The aim of our paper is to evidence the influence of Gamma and UV radiations on the induced birefringence of poly(vinyl alcohol) stretched foils. Thin foils of PVA were prepared and dried without modifying their surfaces. The polymeric foils were irradiated from 15 min to 6 h using UV and Gamma radiations. The induced by stretching under heating birefringence of PVA films was measured at λ = 589.3 nm with a Babinet Compensator. Physico-chemical processes (photo stabilization, photo degradation, oxidation) induced by irradiation of polymer matrix influence both the stretching degree and the anisotropy of etired foils. An increase of birefringence versus the stretching ratio of the PVA foils was evidenced for all studied samples. The dependence of the birefringence on the exposure time, stretching ratio and nature of radiation was also confirmed.