HISTORY

The effects of ionizing radiation on polymers are extremely important for a wide variety of fields ranging from medicine and biotechnology to nuclear power production and space technology. Generally speaking polymers can be submitted to ionizing radiation in various situations, either intentionally or in the course of their normal use. Ionizing radiation of polymers have been used for more than fifty years for industrial applications. As a consequence, the radiation chemistry of polymers has been intensely studied. Despite the growing scientific and technical interest of radiation-induced modifications on polymers, there was no dedicated meeting where scientists dealing with the effects of ionizing radiation on polymers would exchange and disseminate their knowledge before the early 1990ths. To fill this gap, Dr. N. Betz, Dr. A. Le Moël, from the French Atomic commission (CEA) and their coworkers from Germany decided to organize an international conference addressing this subject.

The IRaP meeting has been focused on threefold aims:

  • Bringing together scientists/engineerings from universities, research centers, and industrial sectors,

  • Providing a forum to exchange knowledge and information in this field, and

  • Promoting innovative radiation-processed polymers and applications.

“Shaping the Future”

International Symposium on Ionizing Radiation and Polymers (IRaP)

The IRaP meetings started in 1994, in France, and since then have been organized in various countries on three continents, including France (1996, 2000), Germany (1998), Canada (2002), Belgium (2004), Turkey (2006), Brazil (2008), USA (2010), Poland (2012), South Korea (2014), France (2016), Russia (2018), (2020), Japan (2022), Brazil (2024). Although relatively young, the IRaP conference has established itself as an important forum for discussing the effects of ionizing radiation on polymers. During these biannual meetings, chemists, physicists, biologists, nuclear and material engineers and industrials working with all ionizing radiations including gamma rays, electron beams, ion beams, X-rays and plasmas discuss new development in basic and applied radiation chemistry and physics of polymer systems, new trend in radiation processing of polymers, and emerging technologies.

During the last IRaP held in Brazil, it was decided that IRaP 2026 will be organized in Phuket, Thailand. It's an honor and a privilege to be a part of the IRaP organization which is a long-pivotal science and technological event in ionizing radiation and polymers.

SCIENTIFIC TOPICS

The conference will cover the following main topics:

  • Radiation processing of polymers towards UN SDGs, Atoms4NetZero, Atoms4Climate, Atoms4Development

  • Fundamentals on ionizing radiations interactions with polymers

  • Polymer ageing, polymer structure and properties modifications

  • Crosslinking, curing, grafting, and surface modification

  • Design of new polymeric materials using ionizing radiations: nanostructures and nanocomposites, functional hydro-/nanogels, 3D/4D printing

  • Radiation processing of sustainable polymers: Biopolymers, bio-based polymers, and biodegradable polymers

  • Polymers recycling and upcycling

  • Modification of polymer structure using swift heavy ions

  • Emerging technologies and development of industrial applications

  • Polymers for packaging, food, health, biotechnology, coatings, environment, and space applications, etc.

  • Irradiation facilities (eBeam/X-rays, Gamma-rays, Swift heavy ions) and process design for polymer processing