Radiation Physics and Chemistry 191 (2022) 109868

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Radiation Physics and Chemistry

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/radphyschem

Thermo-activation spectroscopy of track-etched membranes based on

polyethylene terephthalate films irradiated by swift Xe ions
Dmitry Temnov b, Arnoux Rossouw a, c, *, Iliya Vinogradov a, Natalia Shabanova b,
Tamara Mamonova a, Nikolay Lizunov a, Willem Perold c, Alexander Nechaev a, d
a
Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, 6 Joliot-Curie St., Dubna, Moscow, 141980, Russia
b
Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia, St Petersburg, 191186, Russia
c
Faculty of Engineering, Stellenbosch University, 7602, Stellenbosch, South Africa
d
Dubna State University, 19 Universitetskaya St., Moscow, 141980, Russia

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: In this work, thermally stimulated spectroscopy methods are applied to PET films to analyse the electret state.
Track membrane The thermally stimulated discharge currents, or thermally stimulated depolarization of track-etched like mem­
Polyethylene terephthalate brane samples obtained at different technological stages of their manufacture, have been investigated. The
Swift ions
analysis of thermally stimulated depolarization currents indicates a significant change in the spectra of energy
Electrets
Thermal activation
states of the electric charge accumulated during PET films’ polarization after irradiation with accelerated swift
Thermally stimulated current Xe ions, ultraviolet treatment, and alkaline etching of the latent tracks. The Eyring method was used to calculate
the parameters of the relaxation processes occurring in irradiated PET, such as the activation energy and the
effective frequency factor. The significant change in the spectra of energy states of the electric charge accu­
mulated during polarization in PET films due to ion-track processes indicates the possibility of creating an
electret state in irradiated PET films and track membranes.

1. Introduction 1994; Mchedlishvili et al., 1993). The structural characteristics of track

Recent results of fundamental and applied research on swift ion
beams of low and medium energies give convincing evidence of the
relevance and promising prospects of using swift ions in science-
intensive technologies in the industry. The study of fundamental phys­
ical processes of particles’ interaction with a solid is the determining
basis for their practical use for ion-irradiation modification of materials
(Fink, 2004).
Accelerated swift ion beams can be used as a unique tool for trans­
forming the nano- and microstructure of solids, including in the pro­
duction of track membranes (Bouffard et al., 1995; Ma et al., 2020;
Spohr, 1990). The production of polymer track membranes using swift
ion accelerators is one of the most critical areas of ion track technologies
(Apel, 2001). Track membranes are effectively used in the processes of
water treatment, in biotechnology for the production of vaccines and
serums, medicine as a critical filtering element of plasma filters, in
analytical chemistry, sanitary-biological and analysis environmental
analysis, etc (Hanot and Ferain, 2009; Kaur and Amrita, 2013; Martin,
membranes depend on the ion beam’s parameters, the irradiated poly­
mer film’s structure and its chemical composition, and the methods of
physicochemical processing of latent tracks in it.
Modern track membranes are mainly obtained on polyester films
such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polycarbonate. Thus, PET-
polymer, a representative of the class of polyesters, is a complex ther­
moplastic polyester of terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol, from which
track membranes are produced. PET films represent a composition
consisting of amorphous and crystalline phases. PET in the amorphous
state is characterized by a random arrangement of macromolecule
chains forming an ordered structure. The crystalline state of PET is
characterized by the presence of ordering in the material in the form of
chains of macromolecules. The ordered domain size in the films is about
5–10 nm, and the degree of ordering is about 40–50% (Speight, 2017).
The formation of a track of a swift ion in a polymer material is a
complex physicochemical process (Miterev, 2002). A high-energy
multiply charged ion, passing through a PET film, enters into a
Coulomb interaction with its electronic subsystem. Energy is imparted to

* Corresponding author. Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, 6 Joliot-Curie St., Dubna, Moscow, 141980, Russia.
E-mail address: rossouw@jinr.ru (A. Rossouw).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radphyschem.2021.109868
Received 27 May 2021; Received in revised form 9 September 2021; Accepted 5 November 2021
Available online 9 November 2021
0969-806X/© 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
D. Temnov et al.
the medium locally along the particle’s trajectory, leading to the exci­
tation and ionization of atoms. The energy released along the trajectory
of a swift ion leads to the formation of a continuous extended structural
defect called a track. As a rule, xenon and krypton ions with a large
specific energy loss (MeV /μm) are used to form latent tracks in PET. As a
result of irradiation with swift ions, amorphization of PET and a
decrease in the size of crystallites is observed (Blonskaya et al., 2021).
Additionally, PET macromolecules’ destruction is accompanied by an
increase in the number of carboxyl groups in the polymer (Apel et al.,
1999; Tuleushev et al., 2020).
Tracks in PET are capable of selective chemical etching when
exposed to aqueous solutions of alkali metals. In ester polymers,
including polyethylene terephthalate, a chemical reaction of the etchant
interacts with the breaking of ester bonds, the elimination of ethylene
glycol and terephthalate ion molecules with the formation of carboxyl
and hydroxyl groups on the surface, which determine the negative
electric charge of the surface of the material in contact with aqueous
media. In order to increase the selectivity of track etching, the method of
photooxidation of radiolysis products in tracks under the action of "soft"
ultraviolet (UV) radiation in the presence of oxygen is used (Apel, 2001;
Ditlov et al., 1997; Enge, 1995; Fink, 2004; Kaniukov et al., 2017).
It should be noted that PET films are also used to produce electrets
with a steady electrical charge. An electret is a dielectric that retains a
polarized state for a long time after removing the external influence,
which leads to the polarization (or charging) of this dielectric and cre­
ates a quasi-constant electric field in the surrounding space. The electret
state, one way or another, is inherent in all dielectrics, including PET
(Brzeziński et al., 2009; Cañadas et al., 2019; Gasanov et al., 2012;
Kravets et al., 2013; Lacabanne et al., 1979; Schneider and Wendorff,
1984).
Analysis of the literature has shown that the methods of ion-track
electreting of polymer films are not described in the literature. It can
be assumed that, by analogy with the types of electrets presented above,
the electret properties of a polymer film will change as a result of
bombardment with accelerated swift ions and under the influence of UV
irradiation and alkaline etching of tracks. This will be associated with a
change in the PET film’s morphology and chemical structure after
exposure to both ionizing radiation and highly alkaline thermal
hydrolysis.
The thermo-stimulated depolarization method was applied to anal­
yse the effect of the ion-track processing of PET on the change in electret
properties, we decided to use. Thermal activation spectroscopy is widely
used to study electrical relaxation processes and, in particular, the
electret state in various dielectric materials (Bräunlich, 1979; Gor­
okhovatsky et al., 1998; Temnov et al., 2013; Turnhout, 1971). One of
the most popular thermo-activation spectroscopy methods used to study
charge relaxation in electrets is the method of thermally stimulated
discharge current, or thermally stimulated depolarization (TSD). In this
case, the measurement of thermally stimulated currents is carried out in
the mode of short circuit of the external circuit (i.e., the external
measuring circuit’s resistance is much less than the resistance of the
investigated dielectric). By analysing the shape of the TSD curve (the
temperature dependence of the initial section of the current peak, the
temperature position of the current maximum, etc.), it is possible to
determine from the experimental data the most probable activation
energy of electrically active defects and their effective frequency factor
(the methods of processing TSD data are described in detail in (Ditlov
et al., 1997)).
Thus, in studies on the effect of a corona discharge on PET (Brze­
ziński et al., 2009; Kochervinskii et al., 1995; Kravets et al., 2013), the
observed TSD spectra in PET confirmed the presence of both dipole and
the charge’s spatial relaxation. A two-dimensional analysis of the space
charge peak in the TSD spectra of PET showed that the influence of the
activation volume might be relevant in determining the space load’s
behaviour, taking into account the samples’ thermal history.
It should be noted that an understanding of changes in the properties
2
Radiation Physics and Chemistry 191 (2022) 109868
Table 1
List of samples, etching time and average surface pore diameter of irradiated and
alkaline treated PET film.
Sample Etching Average SEM surface pore Additional comments
Number time (min) diameter, ±10% error, (SEM cross-section
(nm) view)
1 0.5 25 Partially etched
2 1 36 Partially etched
3 2 57 Partially etched
4 3 78 Partially etched
5 4 160 Fully etched
6 6 232 Fully etched
7 – – Original film
8 – – Original film + UV
*Note, cross-sectional pore diameter has not been indicated as only correlation
between TSD and film surface /surface pores were investigated.
of the charged surface of irradiated PET films and track-etched mem­
branes based on polyesters is required to expand the spectrum of their
practical application. Incorporating electret properties into these ma­
terials could lead to further application in packaging materials for the
food industry, filters and membranes, biomedical technology and con­
verters such as in hydrogen production.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Sample preparation
Similar to the method used in track-etched membrane production,
samples were made from Hostaphan RNK PET film, 30 μm thick, man­
ufactured by Mitsubishi Polyester Films. According to the manufacturer,
the film is produced by co-extrusion from a melt and consists of an inner
layer free from filler particles and thin outer layers of polymer con­
taining a small additive of nano-dispersed silicon dioxide. The film is
subjected to biaxial drawing and subsequent heat treatment during
production, which forms a semi-crystalline polymer structure. The
density of the film material is 1.4 g /cm3. Irradiation with 132Xe + 26 ions
was carried out by a beam with an energy of 1.16 MeV/nucleon at an
angle of ± 35◦ sequentially from both sides on the IC-100 cyclotron at
the FLNR JINR. The ion penetration depth in PET was about 20 μm. The
fluence of ions on each side was N = 4.5⋅108 cm-2.
The choice of conditions for double-sided irradiation of PET films
with swift ions is due to an assumption that the analysis of the TSD
would reveal the moment of the formation of through pores in the TM
samples. The path length of Xe ions, in accordance with the above-
described irradiation conditions, is of the order of 20 μm. The zone of
intersection of latent tracks is in the range from 5 to 10 μm. Additionally,
film treatment by swift ion irradiation can be used for increasing the
active surface of TMs. Table 1 shows the applied conditions for sample
preparation.
Before etching, all samples were exposed to UV irradiation for 2 h on
each side. Samples of ion-irradiated films were exposed to UV radiation
from LE-30 lamps (Lisma, Saransk, Russia) in air. The intensities
measured with a TPK-PKM radiometer were ~4.03 W /m2 in the UV-A
range (315–400 nm) and ~5.09 W /m2 in the UV-B range (280–315
nm) and ~479 mW /m2 in the UV-C range (100–280 nm). The chemical
etching was carried out in a thermostat at 80 ◦ C with a NaOH solution
concentration of 1 mol /L for various times: between 1 and 6 min.
The density of nano- and micropores on the surface was calculated
using a Hitachi SU8020 scanning electron microscope (SEM). A polymer
matrix’s technique of fragility by mild photooxidation was used to
obtain membrane chips, and the images thereof were studied.
The Hagen Poiseuille equation (Hernández et al., 1996; Siddiqui
et al., 2016), was used to describe the relationship between pressure,
fluidic resistance and flow rate, so as to determine if the irradiated and
alkaline etched PET films had pores in the form of capillaries or not.
D. Temnov et al.
Fig. 1. Sample 1, etching time 30 s and an average surface pore diameter of
25 nm.
Fig. 2. Sample 1, cross-sectional view.
2.2. Measuring device for thermally stimulated depolarization currents
To measure thermally stimulated depolarization (TSD) currents, a
TSC-II setup from Setaram (France) was used. The process of measuring
the depolarization currents of the samples under study included the
following sequential procedures programmed at the stage of experiment
planning:
• polarization of the samples at a constant temperature Tp = 90◦ С in an
electric field with a strength of 5 kV /mm for a time tp = 0.5 min;
• cooling the samples at a rate of 4◦ C /min with an applied electric
field to a temperature of T0 = 10◦ C;
• maintaining the sample at temperature T0 with the electric field
turned off for time t0 = 1 min;
• heating the sample at a predetermined rate (4, 7 or 9◦ C /min) to a
temperature of Tf = 130◦ C while simultaneously measuring depo­
larization currents using a Keithley 6517E electrometer.
• All measurements were carried out in a vacuum chamber in a
gaseous helium atmosphere.
The polarization of the samples was carried out after irradiation and
etching, so the calculated parameters are a characteristic of the charge
3
Radiation Physics and Chemistry 191 (2022) 109868
Fig. 3. Sample 6, etching time 6 min and an average surface pore diameter of
232 nm.
Fig. 4. Sample 6, cross sectional view.
state of track-etched membranes.
3. Results and discussions
In this work, samples 1–6, obtained at different stages of the
manufacture of track membranes, and the initial polymer PET film were
studied.
The pore diameter of the sample surface was measured by scanning
electron microscopy, see Table 1. Figs. 1–4 below of SEM images of
sample 1 and 6 are the most representative of the date presented above.
All PET based samples presented in Table 1 were tested using water
permeability at a pressure of 0.2 MPa. It was found that only samples
number 5 and 6 were permeable to water. The average diameter of the
pores was calculated using the Hagen Poiseuille equation (Hernández
et al., 1996; Siddiqui et al., 2016) at approx. 0.09 μm and 0.14 μm,
respectively. Considering the substantial differences between the SEM
and Hagen Poiseuille results and the fact that bubble point measure­
ments on POROLUX 1000 were unsuccessful, it can be assumed that the
irradiated PET resulted in a track-etched like membrane consisting of a
network of dead-end pores. Due to the network of dead-end and inho­
mogeneous pores within the membrane samples, the surface pore
diameter was chosen as a parameter to indicate the correlation between
D. Temnov et al.
Fig. 5. Sample 7, TSD curves of films of the original polyethylene terephthalate
at two heating rates (1: 9 ◦ C /min, 2: 7 ◦ C /min).
the activation energy and frequency factor.
Fig. 5 shows the TSD curves of the initial polymer film obtained at
two different sample heating rates (7 and 9 ◦ C /min).
The presented dependences in Fig. 5 clearly show several relaxation
processes, which, as a rule, are associated with various molecular
movements inside the polymer: the high-temperature α-process (dipole-
segmental) in the temperature range of 90 ◦ C is associated with orien­
tational rotations of the polar units of the macromolecule under condi­
tions when possible segmental movement. In other words, in a highly
elastic state and β-, γ-processes (dipole-group) in the temperature range
of 60◦ С and 25◦ С, respectively, due to the mobility of the terminal and
side polar groups of macromolecules, which can also manifest them­
selves in the glassy state.
The technique of various linear heating rates of the sample using
numerical solution methods based on the Tikhonov-Arseniev regular­
izing algorithms was used to determine these activation energy pro­
cesses. Finding the required parameters of the Electrically active defects
(EAD) from the experimental dependence means, in mathematical
terms, the solution of the integral equation (1):
Fig. 6. TSD curves of the initial polyethylene terephthalate films (1), irradiated with Xe ions (2) and subsequent exposed to UV irradiation (3) at a heating rate of
7 ◦ C /min.
4
Radiation Physics and Chemistry 191 (2022) 109868
∫ωm ∫Em
j(T) ∼ dω G (E, ω)ξ (E, ω, T, β ) dE (1)
0 0
where ω,Е is the frequency factor and activation energy of electrically
active defects, respectively; Τ-object temperature; β-the rate of change in
the sample temperature (heating rate); G(E,ω) - distribution function of
electrically active defects; ξ(E, ω, T, β) - the integrand function, the
specific form of which is determined by the physical model incorporated
in the theory of the phenomenon of thermally stimulated depolarization.
From equation (1), it can be seen that the solution to this problem is
possible only if the value of the frequency factor ω is known. However,
this value is not known in advance in practice, and the solution turns out
to be ambiguous. A method was proposed in (Gorokhovatsky et al.,
1999) for comparing the energy spectra, which were numerically
reconstructed from the TSD current curves measured for a given sample
at two heating rates (all other things being equal) to circumvent this
difficulty. If the frequency factor’s value is chosen correctly, then the
energy spectra should not differ for different heating rates. On the
contrary, the difference in the reconstructed spectra for different heating
rates indicates the need to select a different frequency factor value.
Thus, this technique’s application makes it possible to determine the
EAD parameters in the material under study with a sufficient degree of
reliability, even in the case when the relaxation processes observed in it
are not monoenergetic, and the electrically active defects have a com­
plex energy distribution. The activation energies of these processes ac­
cording to the TSD results were equal to 1.24 eV, 0.93 eV and 0.45 eV,
respectively, a decrease in the temperature of the maximum of the de­
polarization peak.
Irradiation of PET films with Xe ions and UV radiation significantly
increases the intensity of α-relaxation, which means an increase in
segmental mobility in irradiated samples (Fig. 6), apparently due to the
amorphization of the sample under irradiation with ions (Bouffard et al.,
1995).
Increasing the etching time of the films from 1 to 6 min changed the
spectrum of the TSD currents significantly, both in intensity and tem­
perature (Figs. 7–12). It can be assumed that, by changing the etching
time, the most important process for the relaxation of the charge be­
comes another process, which is most likely associated with the for­
mation of charge traps, on the track walls and their subsequent emptying
D. Temnov et al. Radiation Physics and Chemistry 191 (2022) 109868

Fig. 7. Sample 2, TSD curves of polyethylene terephthalate films irradiated with Xe and UV radiation at a time of chemical etching t = 1 min at two different heating
rates: (1) 7 ◦ C /min, (2) 9 ◦ C/min.

Fig. 8. Sample 3, TSD curves of polyethylene terephthalate films irradiated with Xe ions and UV radiation with a chemical etching time t = 2 min at two different
heating rates:: (1) 7 ◦ C /min, (2) 9 ◦ C/min.

during the etching process. effective frequency factor were calculated for all used etching times
As shown from the above Figs. 7–12, the maximum of the peak of the (Table 2).
TSD currents shifts with increasing etching time to the high-temperature As is known (Apel et al., 1997), an increase in the etching time leads
region, and its intensity remains approximately the same. To analyse the to an increase in the pores’ average diameter formed in track mem­
experimental data, we used an empirical analysis method based on the branes. Table 2 shows the dependence of the average surface pore
Eyring equation of activated states (2), which usually gives more diameter on the etching time.
physically realistic parameters (activation energy and effective fre­ It can be noted that the dependence of the activation energy on the
quency factor) of electrically active defects, at least in the case of a low average surface pore diameter is almost linear (Fig. 13), and the effec­
temperature of noncooperative relaxation (Eyring and Gibbs, 1951): tive frequency factor has a pronounced nonlinear character (Fig. 14). A
( ) ( ) sharp increase in the frequency factor after 150 nm may most likely
kT ΔH ΔS
ω= exp − exp (2) indicate the formation of through pores in PET films with a sufficient
h kT k
etching time and an increase in the polymer’s free volume. An increase
in the activation energy suggests the formation of deeper and deeper
where k is the Boltzmann’s constant, h is Planck’s constant, ΔH is
traps of charge carriers with an increase in the etching time.
enthalpy and ΔS is entropy.
Using the method of relaxation maps (Doulut et al., 1998), the degree
The relaxation process parameters, the activation energy and the

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D. Temnov et al. Radiation Physics and Chemistry 191 (2022) 109868

Fig. 9. Sample 4, TSD curves of polyethylene terephthalate films irradiated with Xe ions and UV radiation at a chemical etching time t = 3 min at two different
heating rates: (1) 7 ◦ C /min, (2) 9 ◦ C/min.

Fig. 10. Sample 5, TSD curves of polyethylene terephthalate films irradiated with Xe ions and UV radiation at a chemical etching time t = 4 min at two different
heating rates: (1) 7 ◦ C /min, (2) 9 ◦ C/min.

of disorder of the polymer system was calculated. With an increase in the
etching time, it increases from 25.2 (for an etching time of 1 min) to 36.6
(for an etching time of 5 min) and can be a characteristic of the total
volume of "loose" polymer along the pore walls, which forms during
etching.
An additional experiment was carried out on the effect of thermal
treatment of irradiated PET films in water on TSD. Fig. 15 shows the
results for irradiated and non-irradiated PET films that have undergone
thermal treatment in water for 2 h at a temperature of 80 degrees
Celsius. Although water undoubtedly affects the spectra, but only by the
height of the TSD peak, and not by the position, which indicates the
possibility of PET amorphization both when it is irradiated with swift
ions and when plasticized with water molecules. . Such a treatment can
lead to weak hydrolysis of irradiated PET and its swelling; such changes
in the spectra as during etching are not observed.

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D. Temnov et al. Radiation Physics and Chemistry 191 (2022) 109868

Fig. 11. Sample 6, TSD curves of polyethylene terephthalate films irradiated with Xe ions and UV radiation at a time of chemical etching t = 6 min at two different
heating rates: (1) 7 ◦ C /min, (2) 9 ◦ C/min.

etching of tracks in PET film, have a significant effect on the TSD current
spectra. The values of the parameters of relaxers and the degree of dis­
order of the polymer system for track-etched like membranes with
different pore diameters were calculated. For the initial PET films,
several relaxation processes are clearly observed, which, as a rule, are
associated with various molecular movements inside the polymer: a
high-temperature process (dipole-segmental) in the temperature range
of 90 ◦ C is associated with orientational rotations of the polar units of
the macromolecule under conditions when segmental movement is
possible Irradiation of PET films with Xe ions and UV radiation signifi­
cantly increase the intensity of α-relaxation, which means an increase in
the segmental mobility in the irradiated samples. Further etching of the
films with an increase in the etching time significantly changed the
spectrum of TSD currents both in temperature position and in intensity.
It can be assumed that, in this case, another process takes priority for the
Fig. 12. Sample 2–6, TSD curves of polyethylene terephthalate films irradiated
relaxation of the charge, most likely associated with the formation and
with Xe ions and UV radiation at a heating rate of 7 K /min and a chemical
etching time of 1 - 1 min; 2 - 2 min; 3 - 3 min; 4 - 4 min; 5–6 min.
further emptying of charge traps on the track walls. The maximum of the
peak of the TSD currents shifts with increasing etching time to the high-
temperature region, and its intensity and the dependence of the acti­
Table 2 vation energy on the average surface pore diameter are almost linear.
Parameters of the relaxation process observed in etched PET films at different The dependence of the efficiency of the frequency factor has a pro­
etching times. nounced nonlinear character. A sharp increase in the frequency factor,
Sample Etching Average surface Activation Effective
most likely, may indicate the formation of through pores in PET films at
number time, min pore diameter energy, eV frequency a sufficient etching time. An increase in the activation energy suggests
(nm) factor, s-1 the formation of deeper and deeper charge carrier traps with an increase
2 1 36 0,70 2,4⋅1010 in the etching time. The results may indicate a significant change in the
3 2 57 0,73 4,4⋅1010 spectrum of energy states of the electric charge accumulated during such
4 3 78 0,76 5,4⋅1010 films’ polarization and the possibility of creating an electret state in such
5 4 160 0,88 1,5⋅1012 materials. The parameters of the relaxation processes of track-etched
6 6 232 0,97 1,1⋅1013
like membranes can be set in accordance with the structural features
of such objects. In conclusion, it can be noted that the TSD method can
4. Conclusions be an effective tool for the analysis of physicochemical changes in
polymer films irradiated with swift ions. The method also makes it
Thermal activation spectroscopy was applied for the first time to PET possible to evaluate the changes occurring in latent tracks because of
films irradiated by swift Xe ions from both sides and then treated with their chemical etching. The possibility of creating an electret state in
alkaline hydrolysis. It is shown that the processes of ion-track technol­ irradiated PET films by swift ions based on polyethylene terephthalate
ogy, such as irradiation with swift ions 132Xe+ 26, UV sensitization and makes it possible to expand the possibilities of their use as protective

7
D. Temnov et al. Radiation Physics and Chemistry 191 (2022) 109868

Fig. 13. Dependence of the activation energy on the average surface pore diameter.

Fig. 14. Dependence of the effective frequency factor on the average surface
pore diameter.

perforated films for wound dressings in combustology. However, taking

these finding into account, future work will study membranes obtained
Fig. 15. PET - Xe Treated with water (2 h 80 degrees C) and irradiated with
based on classic track-etching technology, where ions entirely pass
ions (1), PET film - Not irradiated with ions, treated with water (2), PET - Xe
through the membrane instead of using films irradiated from both sides.
Not treated with water, irradiated with ions (3).

Funding
Permeability Investigation. Natalia Shabanova: Formal analysis, Inves­
tigation. Tamara Mamonova: Track-etched membrane preparation.
This work was funded by the National Research Foundation and the
Nikolay Lizunov: SEM and TEM Investigation. Willem Perold: Supervi­
Department of Science and Innovation of South Africa (grant number
sion. Alexander Nechaev: Conceptualization, Supervision, Funding
129274) in association with the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research,
acquisition, Writing - Reviewing. All authors discussed the results and
Russia. The research was supported by the Ministry of Science and
contributed to the final manuscript.
Higher Education of the Russian Federation (Project No. FSZN-2020-
0026).
Declaration of competing interest

CRediT author statement The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
Arnoux Rossouw and Dmitry Temnov share co-first authorship. the work reported in this paper.
Dmitry Temnov: Validation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Writing -
Original Draft. Arnoux Rossouw: Conceptualization; Data curation,
Investigation, Writing - Reviewing and Editing. Iliya Vinogradov:

8
D. Temnov et al. Radiation Physics and Chemistry 191 (2022) 109868

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