HYSCORE and Davies ENDOR study of irradiated ultra high molecular weight polyethylene.

Ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) has been studied with different magnetic resonance techniques to elicit information on the nature and the location of radicals generated during high energy irradiation. Field swept electron paramagnetic resonance, pulsed Davies electron nuclear double resonance and hyperfine sublevel correlation spectroscopic measurements allowed extracting for the first time the full (1) H hyperfine coupling tensors of the most abundant radical, i.e. a secondary alkyl radical and to ascertain the formation of allyl radicals in the first stages of the irradiation process. The (1) H hyperfine coupling tensors are analogous to those reported for single crystal irradiated polyethylene, suggesting that radicals generated in UHMWPE are located in the crystalline region of the polymer.