Spectroscopic and sub optical band gap properties of e-beam irradiated ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene

• Urbach energy in UHMWPE is found to decrease with e-beam irradiation.
• UHMWPE direct and indirect energy band gaps are found to decrease with irradiation.
• Effect of e-beam on the number of carbon atoms in C=C unsaturation is investigated.

Muller matrix spectro-polarimeter has been used to study the absorption behavior of pristine and e-beam irradiated (30, 65,100 kGy) ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) over the visible spectral range i.e. 400–800 nm. As a result, significant changes occur in the absorption behavior of irradiated samples due to radiation induced physical and chemical changes. To analyze these (radiation induced) changes in polymer matrix, Urbach edge method is employed for the calculation of optical activation energy. In addition to this, direct and indirect energy band gaps along the number of carbon atoms in C=C unsaturation have been determined by using modified Urbach formula and Tauc's equation, respectively. The results obtained during study reveal that Urbach energy decreases with radiation treatment and has a lower value for 100 kGy sample i.e. Eu=71.63 meV. The values of direct and indirect energy band gaps are also following the decreasing trend with e-beam irradiation. Moreover, indirect energy gaps are found to have lower values as compared to direct energy gaps. The number of carbon atoms in clusters (as estimated from modified Tauc’s equation) has been found to vary from ∼6 to 8 for direct energy band gaps and from ∼9 to 11 for indirect energy band gaps.