On an anomalous kinetic in irradiated polymers around the glass transition temperature

Anomalies occurring in irradiated polymers within the glass transition range, as reported by various authors are critically reviewed. A theoretical description for such processes, is developed within the free volume approximation. The discrepancies between the temperature at which such anomalies are noticed and the glass transition temperature have been ascribed to the fact that the volume of radiation-induced radicals is not equal with the segmental one. The agreement between experiment and theory is good. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.