Figure 7
From: Ultra-fast polymer optical fibre Bragg grating inscription for medical devices
Chemical reactions considered in the energy calculations. Upon UV exposure, we assume that DPDS is cleaved into two sulphenyl radicals (a) while the PMMA chain (here modelled by only two monomers linked together) undergoes various photodegradation reactions, four possibilities of which are considered here (b1–b4). These are the removal of the OCH3 group from the side chain (b1), removal of the CH3 group on the side chain (b2), complete removal of the side chain (b3) and removal of the CH3 group opposite the side chain (b4).
