Title:Ionizing Radiation: Chemical Kinetics, Chemical Bounds, and Radiation
Chemistry on Polymers
Volume: 23
Issue: 15
Author(s): Martha Sahylí Ortega Pijeira, Tais Monteiro Magne, Natália Cristina Gomes da Silva, Elisabete Regina Fernandes Ramos Ribeiro, Yuri José Albuquerque Silva, Eduardo Ricci-Junior, Luciana Magalhães Rebelo Alencar and Ralph Santos-Oliveira*
Affiliation:
- Laboratory of Nanoradiopharmacy and Synthesis of New Radiopharmaceuticals, Brazilian Nuclear Energy Commission, Nuclear Engineering Institute, Rio de Janeiro 21941906, RJ, Brazil
- Laboratory of Radiopharmacy and Nanoradiopharmaceuticals, Rio de Janeiro State University, Rio de Janeiro 23070200, RJ, Brazil
Keywords:
Radiation, Radiochemistry, Radiopharmaceuticals, Green chemistry, Ionizing radiation, Polymers.
Abstract: Ionizing radiation has been used for decades and expanded to several applications in
multivariate sectors, becoming an important tool to promote controlled chemical reactions in polymeric
structures, according to their chemical properties for developing new materials. In addition,
the use of radiation can also be applied in order to reduce or eliminate compounds from solutions
that may be harmful or of low interest. In this review, we overviewed the chemistry behind material
irradiation and the attractive use of ionizing radiation in scientific and industrial development. In
this regard, the review was divided into three main sections titled (1) chemical kinetics intermediated
by radiation, (2) chemical bonds intermediated by radiation, and (3) radiation chemistry on polymers.
We concluded that graft polymerization, crosslinking and chain scission reactions induced
by ionizing radiation are very efficient and green strategies for developing new materials with improved
properties. Furthermore, water radiolysis plays a key role in the degradation of several contaminants,
including pharmaceuticals and microplastics, in aqueous solutions. However, more studies
must be conducted to complement the existing theory about the proposed mechanisms responsible
for modifying the chemical, mechanical, thermal, optical, and so forth properties of irradiated
materials.
