Nanopolymers and Radiation

Ionizing radiation has been found to be widely applicable in modifying the structure of polymers and a significant advantage of the use of radiation is that the processes can be considered "solvent free" respect to conventional synthesis procedures thereby reducing or avoiding the presence of additives that could be potentially harmful. The use of radiation has involved, as might be expected, the field of nanotechnologies in the production of new materials and structures that have both fundamental interest and potential applications in areas such as biomedical sciences, electronics, optics, and material sciences. Metal sulphide semiconductors of nanometric dimensions in polymer matrices are realized using gamma irradiation of a suitable solution of monomer, sulphur and metal sources, and they find applications in photoluminescent, photoelectric and nonlinear optic materials. Ion track membranes, obtained by chemical etching of heavy ion irradiated polymer films, find application as templates for the synthesis of nanostructures. The shape of the pores can be modified, obtaining asymmetric pores, which rectify an ion current, and temperature sensitive pores can be obtained by grafting of others polymers on the membranes.