Structural and Functional Properties of Ion Beam Modified Elastomers

Abstract

Studies on the use of energetic ion beams for material modication have been initiated originally within the Manhattan project and have been continuously developed since then. The consecutive steps were devoted to the studies of ion implantation into semiconductors, metals, ceramics and, most recently, organic materials. One of the latest areas of applications is modication of elastomers, commonly known as rubbers. In the present paper the results of the studies on structural and functional properties of irradiated elastomers will be presented with the special emphasis on the materials used in aviation and military applications. Among the structural modications, a massive loss of hydrogen atoms appears as the most peculiar characteristic of irradiated elastomers. Functional properties of irradiated rubbers: microhardness and friction coecient, will be presented and application potential of the materials discussed.

Modification of PET Polymer Foil by Na+ Implantation

“…polyethylene (PE) [17][18][19][20], polyaryletheretherketone (PEEK) [21,22], polycarbonate (PC) [23,24], poly(allyl diglycol carbonate) (CR-39) [25], and polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) [26,27]. A lot of effort was also put in studying modification of irradiated elastomers [28][29][30][31] and copolymers [32,33], as well as polyethylene terephthalate (PET).…”

Modification of PET Foil by 150 keV Li+ Ion Implantation

“…There were studies on the modification of polyurethane (PU) by N + and Ar + [12,13,18], polystyrene by Ar + [32], polyethylene (PE) by, e.g., H + , He + , Ar + , Xe + , and Ti + [33][34][35][36][37], polyaryletheretherketone (PEEK) by N + [38][39][40], polycarbonate (PC) by Ar + and Cu + [41][42][43], poly(allyl diglycol carbonate) (CR-39) by Ar + and Au + [21,44,45], polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) by Au + , Ag + , B + , and C + [46][47][48]. Many reports concerning the modification of irradiated elastomers, e.g., acrylonitrilebutadiene rubber (NBR), ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM), and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) irradiated by He + [49][50][51][52][53] were also delivered. Last but not least, much effort has gone into the investigations of implanted polyethylene terephthalate (PET) [54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62].…”

Structure and Physicomechanical Properties of Nanostructured (TiHfZrNbVTa)N Coatings after Implantation of High Fluences of N+(1018cm-2)

“…This process is used to change the physical-mechanical, tribological, chemical, or electrical properties of the solid [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]. The ions alter the elemental composition of the target, stopping in the target and staying there, causing many chemical and physical changes in the target by transferring their energy and momentum to the electrons and atomic nuclei of the target material.…”

“…In its turn, it causes a structural change, in that the crystal structure of the target can be damaged or even destroyed by the energetic collision cascades. As the masses of the implanted ions are comparable to those of the target atoms, the implanted ions knock the target atoms out of place even more than electron beams do [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]. The main advantage of ion implantation is preservation of sample sizes, locality (small projected range), high reproducibility, no problems with adhesion, etc., which allows using it in various technological processes.…”