Abstract
Aromatic hydrocarbons especially 1,2 benzanthracene and perylene were effective in suppression of carbonyl and hydroperoxide formation upon irradiation, while carbon structures (carbon black and graphite) seems to produce increased radiation degradability, as it was shown by IR data. Pyrene and perylene induced increased stability to thermal oxidation subsequent to irradiation. The radiation induced formation of some hydroxyl groups grafted on degraded polynuclear structure has been supposed to explain the observed increased stability. Several changes in IR absorption bands observed with these irradiated hydrocarbons support this hypothesis. Keywords: chemiluminescence, aromatic compounds, degradation, polyethylene