First report on preparation of poly (nitro-carbonate) thermoset polymers for nuclear track detection

In an attempt to study the effect of various radiation sensitive groups in the polymer matrix and their relation to the sensitivity towards charged particles, we have designed two new monomers Allyl bis-(2-nitroxy-ethyl) carbamate (ABNEC) and prepared its copolymer with ADC. Since, the ABNEC monomer was not thermally much stable, we designed another novel monomer containing (-CNO2) group, called tris-(2,4-dioxa-3-oxohept-6-en-1-yl)nitromethane (TDONM) and prepared its homopolymer as well as copolymer with ADC. These are thermoset poly(nitro-carbonate) materials and are being reported as track detectors for the first time. The kinetics of polymerization for these monomers was studied. Due to thermal instability of ABNEC and TDONM monomers, special care is required during their polymerization. The preliminary studies carried out show that, the copolymers ABNEC-ADC and TDONM-ADC are almost comparable to PADC track detectors. A brief description of the study of some of the etching conditions, the effect of initiator concentration on the alpha sensitivity of the materials and also track detection efficiency studies in comparison with commercially available PADC (Pershore Moldings, UK) are reported.