PVA/CMC hydrogels were irradiated using MeV electron beams. By analyzing structures

transparence

gel fraction and swelling ratio of the samples varying with the electron irradiation dose

we studied the gel properties of PVA/CMC hydrogels induced by electron beam irradiation. It was found that hydrogels with different quantities of PVA and the same quantity of CMC behave differently under MeV electron beam irradiation. The irradiated PVA/CMC hydrogels are of strong water absorbability after extraction

which implied that net-structures were formed in the hydrogels after irradiation. Several competing-reactions resulted in a complex relation between the gel fraction and the quantity of PVA. FTIR results showed that electron beam irradiation made secondary alcohol turn to tertiary alcohol by the hydrogen replacement

which led to crosslinking of samples.