Conductometric investigations of multicharged ion track structure in various polymers

The radial structure of etchable tracks of multicharged ions in polyethylene terephtalate, polycarbonate, polyarylate, and polypropylene is investigated using conductometric method. The doses of gel formation under irradiation of these polymers by accelerated xenon ions with approximately 1 MeV/nucleon energy are estimated. It is found that the track of highly ionizing particles in a polymer consists of a core where intensive destruction occurs and a halo where, as a rule, the crosslinking of macromolecules predominates. Recombination of the interior radicals provides the crosslinking formation. The radius of the crosslinking region depends on the relation between the hydrogen atom diffusion speed and the rate of their chemical interaction with macromolecules.