[2] In poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) copolymers, high-energy electron irradiation lowers the energy barrier for the ferroelectric-paraelectric phase transition and reduces polarization hysteresis losses in the material.
Electron-beam processing of thermoplastic material results in an array of enhancements, such as an increase in tensile strength and resistance to abrasions, stress cracking and solvents.
Joint replacements such as knees and hips are being manufactured from cross-linked ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene because of the excellent wear characteristics due to extensive research.
[8] Polymers commonly crosslinked using the electron-beam irradiation process include polyvinyl chloride (PVC), thermoplastic polyurethanes and elastomers (TPUs), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), polyamides / nylon (PA66, PA6, PA11, PA12), polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), polymethylpentene (PMP), polyethylenes (LLDPE, LDPE, MDPE, HDPE, UHMWPE), and ethylene copolymers such as ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) and ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE).
[12][13] The resin pellets used to produce the foam and thermoformed parts can be electron-beam-processed to a lower dose level than when crosslinking and gels occur.
[15] Electron-beam processing has the ability to break the chains of DNA in living organisms, such as bacteria, resulting in microbial death and rendering the space they inhabit sterile.
E-beam processing has been used for the sterilization of medical products and aseptic packaging materials for foods, as well as disinfestation, the elimination of live insects from grain, tobacco, and other unprocessed bulk crops.
[17] For some materials and products that are sensitive to oxidative effects, radiation tolerance levels for electron-beam irradiation may be slightly higher than for gamma exposure.
This is due to the higher dose rates and shorter exposure times of e-beam irradiation, which have been shown to reduce the degradative effects of oxygen.