The Effects of Gamma Radiation on Cotton

Abstract

Two series of samples of purified cotton were irradiated in oxygen and nitrogen atmospheres with gamma rays at six dosage levels ranging from 100.000 to 100.000.000 roentgens. Some of the chemical and physical properties of the irradiated cellulose were determined by means of various widely used techniques of cellulose chemistry. It was found that high energy gamma irradiation of cotton resulted in carbonyl group formation, carboxyl group formation, and chain cleavage in the approximate ratio of 20 : 1 : 1 ; increased solubility in water and in dilute alkali ; decrease in tensile strength of the fibers ; small but unusual changes in moisture regain: relatively unchanged infrared absorption spectra ; and the same type of degradation in a nitrogen atmosphere as in an oxygen atmosphere, with oxygen producing only slight enhancement of the reaction.