NEW METHODS FOR THE DETERMINATION OF DOPANT SITE DISTRIBUTIONS AND DOPANT RATES OF DIFFUSION IN LOW-DENSITY POLYETHYLENE FILMS WITH COVALENTLY ATTACHED ANTHRYL GROUPS - FLUORESCENCE QUENCHING BY N,N-DIMETHYLANILINE IN UNSTRETCHED, STRETCHED, AND SWELLED FILMS

Thermal decomposition of 9-anthryldiazomethane, doped into low-density polyethylene (LDPE) films, provides covalent attachment of anthryl groups at internal dopant sites. Fluorescence from the new material, An-LDPE, has been employed to measure the diffusion coefficients of N,N-dimethylaniline (DMA), its diffusion activation energy, and the relative distribution of dopant site sizes in unstretched, stretched, and swelled films. The results are compared with those from LDPE films containing covalently attached pyrenyl groups.