The effect and damage mechanism of 5.3 MeV α-irradiation on O-methyl phenolic epoxy resin

Z Sun and YY Lu and LY Deng and ZC He and Q Cao and ZM Hu, JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS, 616, 156089 (2025).

DOI: 10.1016/j.jnucmat.2025.156089

This study elucidated the structural damage mechanisms of O-methyl phenolic epoxy resin (EOCN) under a-irradiation up to 6 MGy. In situ nanogram-level mass measurements using quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) revealed accelerated degradation beginning at 2 MGy, accompanied by persistent relaxation effects. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses confirmed that the cleavage of epoxy groups constituted the primary degradation pathway, while the simultaneous scission of multiple functional groups contributed to a complex degradation mechanism. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy demonstrated a dose- dependent increase in the concentration of singlet free radicals. Quantum chemical calculations and reactive force field molecular dynamics (ReaxFF-MD) simulations were employed to qualitatively analyze the physicochemical characteristics of key functional groups identified experimentally. Based on these results, two ether bond-breakage degradation pathways were induced by a-particles were reconstructed, along with the associated evolution processes of small-molecule degradation products.

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