A study of radiation effects on polyester urethane using two-dimensional correlation analysis based on thermogravimetric data

Polyester-urethane adhesive was irradiated by gamma rays at various radiation doses. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and infrared attenuated total reflection (ATR) spectroscopy were used to study the radiation effects. Particularly, 2D correlation techniques were employed to study the derivative thermogravimetry (DTG) data. The results of the synchronous and asynchronous 2D correlation spectra are analyzed and discussed. Three decomposition pathways in the urethane linkages, and two decomposition mechanisms of the polyester in soft segments were proved. Besides, we obtained the sequential order of several polyester-urethane adhesive decomposition ranges along the perturbation variable (radiation dose), which showed the soft segments in polyester-urethane were affected by gamma radiation first, whilst the hard segments latest. These results could not be obtained only from the DTG data. In addition, we summarized the gamma radiation effects on polyester-urethane adhesive based on the results we observed.