Structural and physico-chemical studies on modification of polypropylene and its polyphenolic antioxidant by electron beam irradiation

As polypropylene (PP) is widely used in medical and pharmaceutical fields, the effect of sterilization on both the polymer and its additives must be taken into account. In this study, PP and its antioxidants Irganox 1010 and 1076 were electron beam irradiated in order to evaluate by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry and size exclusion chromatography, their structural and physico-chemical modifications. A good correlation between those analytical techniques has indicated the formation of oxidation products, chain scissions as well as crosslinking. The effect of the absorbed dose is underlined.