Surface grafting of polyethylene by mutual irradiation in methyl acrylate vapor. I. γ irradiation

Mutual irradiation of polyethylene (PE) in methyl acrylate vapor easily forms a poly(methyl acrylate) (PMA) homopolymer layer on the inner graft copolymer layer consisting of both PE and PMA components as a result of the rapidly increasing surface-graft composition. This growth process of surface grafting has been found to provide some specific kinetic features different from those in other surface-grafting systems. With formation of the surface homopolymer layer, low- and highdensity PE sheets give the same grafting rate, whereas both sheets give different rates in grafting stages or conditions in which the homopolymer layer is not formed. This result indicates that most monomers, penetrating across the surface, are entrapped or consumed in the surface homopolymer layer; accordingly the rate becomes independent of the type of PE sheets that have significantly different diffusion coefficients. The thickness of the inner graft copolymer layer, which is kept constant after homopolymer-layer formation, increases with decreasing dose rate and with increasing monomer vapor pressure and temperature. This behavior can be qualitatively explained according to an equation for the initial steady-state grafting depth.     

HDPE,LLDPE或LDPE高取向薄膜微结构的电子显微学研究

木工作用透射电子显微术及电子衍射技术研究3种PE(HDPE,LLDPE或LDPE)均聚物高取向薄膜的微结构。定量测定了它们的结晶尺寸。通过倾斜样品电子显微学研究确定了不同种PE纤维结构的对称性。     

Surface modification of polymers. I. Vapour phase photografting with acrylic acid

Surfaces of low density polyethylene, high density polyethylene, and polystyrene have been modified by grafting with acrylic acid. Benzophenone and acrylic acid in the vapor phase were UV-irradiated in the presence of a polymer substrate. Grafting with acrylic acid took place in a thin layer on the surface, thus increasing the wettability of the polymer. After 5 min of irradiation, the contact angle against water had decreased to 20° for polystyrene and 50° for the polyethylene samples. ESCA measurements on samples irradiated for 5 min showed a 90% poly(acrylic acid) coverage of the surface for polystyrene, 63% for low density polyethylene, and 56% for high density polyethylene. Acetone or ethanol were used as carriers of monomer and initiator. Acetone was able to initiate grafting and was found to promote and direct grafting to the surface. The stability of the acrylic acid grafted surfaces was studied by contact angle measurements and ESCA. At room temperature, the grafted layer is confined to the surface, but when the material was heated in air the surface was reshaped into a hydrophobic one. The process was reversible. In aqueous surroundings at elevated temperatures the hydrophilic character of the surface was restored.     

Cleavage of branched polyethylene by chemical filling

Branched polyethylene, melt-crystallized in commercial fabrication processes, cleaves into two layers when exposed to a prolonged “chemical filling” treatment (i.e., formation of filler in situ by interdiffusion of two reactive permeants). Cleavage has been observed in film and blown bottles. With film, progressive changes in experimental conditions from one sample to another, shifted the cleavage plane from near the surface to deeper lying planes. Separation of a thin surface layer requires more filler deposit than does separation into layers of more equal thickness. These observations suggest that a well defined layer structure may exist in branched polyethylene and that cohesive bonding is stronger between layers near the surface of the film than it is between deeper lying layers. Linear polyethylene showed slight layer separation after prolonged chemical filling, but clean cut separation of large areas was not achieved. This behavior may indicate that the cohesive bonding between layers is much stronger in linear polyethylene than in branched polyethylene.     

Losses of silver,arsenic, cadmium,selenium and zinc traces from distilled water and artificial sea-water by sorption on various container surfaces

Sorption losses were studied for Ag. As, Cd, Se, and Zn at a concentration level of 10^-7 M from distilled water and artificial sea-water during storage in containers made of borosilicate glass, high-pressure polyethylene, or polytetrafluoroetbylene. Apart from pH (1, 2, 4, and 8.5) and storage time (1 min to 28 days), special attention was paid to the effect of the ratio of inner container surface to sample volume. The results are compared with literature data. In addition, a survey is given of literature references on sorption of 41 elements from aqueous solutions under different experimental conditions.     

A new method for the detection of thermal oxidation in polyethylene pipes

Dumb-bell shaped specimens containing the inner wall surface of the pipe cut from 12 polyethylene pipes of different origin were subjected to constant uniaxial tensile loads at 313 K in air. The brittleness of the inner wall surface layer of the thermally oxidized pipes manifested itself in a shift of the unstable/stable necking transition to lower stresses and longer times. With the aid of optical and scanning electron microscopy, the brittleness of the inner wall surface layer of the oxidized pipes was demonstrated in distinctive surface cracks, which were the dominant feature of the drawn samples of the oxidized pipes. No such surface cracks were observed in the non-oxidized samples. The surface crack patterns were characterized in terms of crack frequency (longitudinal and transverse), width of fragments of cracked top layer (l_B), plastic strain of the fragments of the cracked top layer (ε_pl) and thickness of the cracked top layer (H). Correlations were found that can be interpreted according to basic principles of fracture mechanics. Through knowledge of, for example, ε_pl and l_B the values of the other variables can be predicted. The thickness of the cracked top layer corrected for the reduction in thickness due to plastic deformation is approximately equal to the thickness of the oxidized layer as determined by polarized microscopy. Drawing in an Instron Tensile Testing Machine at an elongation rate of 10 mm/min at 298 K also revealed the distinctive surface cracks in the oxidized samples. On the basis of these results, a new method for the detection of thermal oxidation in polyethylene pipes is proposed.     

Deformation of oriented polyethylene

The deformation of polyethylene in terms of structural processes has been investigated by low-and wide-angle x-ray diffraction in the case of low-density and, to a lesser extent, high-density polyethylene. The samples possessed a range of simple textures which enabled the deformation processes to be identified. The results are interpreted in terms of a model of stacks of lamellae which have axes along the original draw direction and which deform by lamellar slip, chain slip, and lamellar separation. In most cases these processes accounted for the macroscopic strain but in some cases discrepancies were observed which could be accounted for by inhomogeneous deformation or by the effects of a distribution of lamellar thicknesses. Attempts were made to identify fibrillar slip, without success. The relative contributions of the various deformation processes are examined as a function of temperature and sample treatment by defining a compliance constant for each process. Below room temperature, the results are consistent with expectations based on the α and β mechanical relaxations, whereas the unusual effects at high temperatures are attributed to gradual melting. The compliance constants are also found to depend on the annealing temperature of the sample, and are used to predict the mechanical anisotropy. The volume changes accompanying lamellar separation are examined. They were less than expected in low-density polyethylene, but satisfactory agreement was obtained in high-density polyethylene. A general relation is suggested between volume changes and the lateral development of the lamellae. Hence in narrow lamellae the interlamellar layer can contract laterally whereas the greater constraints imposed by wide lamellae lead to void formation. Other effects examined include the reversibility of the processes which is most marked in the case of chain slip and which is explained by the presence of restoring forces in the amorphous regions including the fold surface. Finally, the differences between low- and highdensity polyethylene are highlighted, emphasizing the part played in the deformation by the amorphous component.     

Surface grafting of polyethylene by mutual irradiation in methyl acrylate vapor. II. High-energy electrons irradiation

Vapor-phase mutual grafting of methyl acrylate (MA) onto polyethylene (PE) at high dose rates from an electron accelerator yields the same surface graft structure as does the grafting at low dose rates from ⁶⁰Co sources; i.e., a homopolymer layer (consisting of only MA component) is easily formed on the inner graft copolymer layer (consisting of both MA and PE components) as a result of the continuously increasing surface graft composition. To produce the surface layer, 4-MeV electron irradiation with a linear electron accelerator requires only less than 3 min of irradiation time at dose rates of more than 2 Mrad/min, whereas γ irradiation with a ⁶⁰Co source requires at least 1 hr at dose rates of less than 2 × 10³ rad/min. The rate of monomer consumption (or polymerization) in the surface homopolymer layer shows no dependence of irradiation time and a positive dependence of dose rate. It has been suggested that this kinetic feature at the high dose rates shows some contribution of vapor-phase homopolymerization and subsequent deposition (onto the grafting surface) followed by recombination with the grafted side chain radicals, although secondary graft copolymerization from the grafted chain radicals is still the principal process for the growth of the surface homopolymer layer.     

Surface Grafting of Phenolic Resole onto LDPE Films

Many studies on surface modification of polymeric membranes have been reported. For example, acrylic acid(shorted as AA) and acrylamide monomers were grafted onto polyethylene, polypropylene and polyethylene terephthalate films in order to minimize the in…     

Analysis of polar compounds on PEG-40M/KF glass capillary columns

The chromatographic properties of potassium fluoride as an additive to the polyethylene glycol stationary phase were investigated. This unique base in organic chemistry was shown to succeed in yielding good results for the analysis of polar compounds, including the primary amines. Glass capillary columns of high selectivity for primary and secondary aliphatic amines were obtained by the “hexane plug” procedure by which a thin layer of KF is deposited on the inner surface of glass capillary columns. Some possible types of donor-acceptor interactions occuring within the system PEG/KF/solute were considered.     

Modification of surface properties of high and low density polyethylene by Ar plasma discharge

Structural changes induced by Ar plasma discharge in low and high density polyethylene (LDPE and HDPE) were studied by different techniques. AFM and SEM methods were used to determine surface morphology, the changes in chemical structure were followed using FTIR and UV-vis spectroscopy. The content and the depth profile of incorporated oxygen was determined by RBS method. The degree of polymer ablation was determined gravimetrically. Standard goniometry was used to determine contact angle and to follow aging of plasma modified polymer. As a result of plasma treatment a lamellar structure or spherulites appear on the surface of HDPE and LDPE, respectively. Pronounced increase of the surface roughness is observed on HDPE contrary to LDPE. Plasma treatment for 400 s leads to the ablation of the surface layer of about 0.6 and 1 μm thick for LDPE and HDPE, respectively. Plasma treatment results in oxidation of the polymer surface layer which is more pronounced in HDPE. Concentration maximum of incorporated oxygen lies 25 nm beneath the sample surface in both polymer types. After exposure to plasma discharge carbonyl, carboxyl and amide groups were detected in the polymer surface layer together with CC bonds either in aromatic or in aliphatic structures. Immediately after the plasma treatment strong decline of the contact angle is observed, the decline being larger in HDPE. Later, in aged specimens the contact angle increases rapidly. The increase, which may be due to rearrangement of degraded structures, is stronger in the specimens exposed to plasma for longer times.     

Reducing the interference from CO2 or organic acids in ion-selective polymer membrane sensors having a field-effect transistor as internal reference element

Changes in sample concentrations of CO₂ or organic acids cause potential instabilities when polymer membranes are directly applied to the surface of ion-selective field-effect transistors (ISFETs). Currently used designs avoid this well-documented effect by placing a layer of aqueous buffer between polymeric membrane and ISFET serving as internal reference element. Here, we propose another solution to the problem. In order to compensate for the effect of pH changes on the ISFET threshold voltage, a double membrane is applied whose inner layer is pH-sensitive, while the outer layer exposed to the sample is a conventional ion-selective membrane. It is shown that this approach strongly reduces the earlier-mentioned interference effects.     

Contact oxidation of inhibited polyethylene on copper at nonuniform antioxidant distribution

The oxidation resistance of polyethylene films in which the antioxidant is concentrated exclusively in the surface layer of the polymer or in the layer contacting with the support was studied. Specific features of oxidation of polyethylene films with heterogeneous distribution of an amine (Neozon D) or phenolic (Irganoks 1010) antioxidant on a catalytically active copper support were examined in relation to the kind of the antioxidant.     

Measurement of subsurface zone in UHMWPE after sliding against stainless steel using the new experimental method DSIP

The Depth Scanning of the Positron Implantation Profile method was employed to investigate the subsurface region in the ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene samples subjected to sliding against stainless steel in pin-on-disc tribotester or compressed. This method revealed a layer below the worn surface characterized by the lower value of the S-parameter than for the reference sample. The layer was extended to the depth of ca. 200 μm.     

过硫酸铵水溶液对聚乙烯表面作用的研究

本文利用X光电子能谱(XPS)及其它技术对过硫酸铵水溶液处理聚乙烯表面改进粘合性的作用机理进行了研究。结果表明,过硫酸铵的氧化作用使聚乙烯表面引入酮、醛、羧基等含氧基团,使其粘合强度显著提高。高密度聚乙烯表面的氧化深度小于40,低密度聚乙烯的均匀氧化深度在40—90之间。处理后的聚乙烯表面未发现明显的交联产物。     

Measurement of A Two Layer Sample Using Pseudo Pulse Excited Photoacoustic Spectrometry

Abstract

To obtain surface layer thickness easily, a simple pseudo pulse excited photoacoustic spectrometric method was proposed. An argon ion laser was chopped mechanically to generate a pseudo pulse (pulse width; 6.6 ms, duty 1.67%), which was then led to a sample enclosed in photoacoustic cell. Two layer samples made of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) were used as model samples. The photoacoustic signal waveform observed showed a maximum from the negative edge of the pseudo pulse of the laser. The delay of the signal increased concomitant with the sample surface thickness. The delay time of the signal was calculated by a cross-correlation method. A linear relationship was obtained between the delay time of the photoacoustic signal from the input pseudo pulse and the surface transparent layer thickness in the range of 0–90 mm. The regression line between the film thickness x (cm) and the delay time was expressed with the thermal diffusivity of the film k, as follows; Δτ (s) = 1.16 × 10^?1 κ^?½ x + 0.006. Using this result, the method proposed was successfully applied to the measurement of the thickness for laminated polyethylene film on papers. The method proposed is simple and easy to perform without any modification of usual photoacoustic instrumentation.     

Benzophenone-initiated grafting photopolymerization of acrylic acid on the surface of polyethylene from the monomer aqueous solution without its deaeration

The photoinduced grafting polymerization of a functional monomer (acrylic acid) is performed on the surface of a polymeric material (polyethylene film) from a nondeaerated aqueous solution of the monomer with the use of a water-insoluble photoinitiator (benzophenone). According to the developed method, the photoinitiator is first deposited on the surface of the polyethylene film from solution in a volatile solvent; then, the surface of the film is covered with a layer of the nondeaerated aqueous solution of the monomer, over which a quartz plate or the second polyethylene film is placed, and the resulting sandwich is exposed to UV radiation. This method is highly efficient when the thickness of the monomer-solution layer is less than 100 ??m. Owing to the small thickness of the monomer solution layer and the absence of the inflow of atmospheric oxygen, molecular oxygen that is initially contained in the monomer solution is rapidly consumed in photooxidation reactions occurring on the surface of the substrate polymer; therefore, molecular oxygen insignificantly affects the efficiency of grafting polymerization.     

DTA investigation of inhibited and catalyzed oxidation of polyethylene

Differential thermal analysis (DTA) and infrared (IR) spectroscopy have been used to investigate the effects of an antioxidant (neozone D) and an oxidation catalyst (dispersed copper) on polyethylene melt oxidation under nonisothermal conditions (samples were heated at a constant rate). An increase in the content of the antioxidant or the oxidation catalyst gives similar results: a decrease in the thickness of the oxidized surface layer and accordingly in the total amount of oxidation in polyethylene samples. This is due to an increase in the rate of oxidation of the polymer.     

Characterization of the Element Distribution Within TiN Coatings with SIMS

 The distribution of the relevant elements within TiN coatings, made with two different physical deposition methods as the conventional dc vacuum arc method and the filtered high current pulsed arc method (Φ-HCA) are characterized and finally compared. Despite the rougher surface of the dc-arc produced TiN layer, which is due to accumulated droplets, there is no evidence of different stoechiometric composition of Ti and N on the surface. The interface of the dc-arc produced TiN layer (600 nm) is 10 times wider than the one made with the new filtered high current pulsed arc method (60 nm). However the TiN layer made by Φ-HCA shows an inhomogeneous distribution of aluminum and chlorine in the vertical direction, whereas the dc-arc sample is homogeneous. Furthermore, the TiN layer made by Φ-HCA shows vertically an obvious local maximum of chlorine at a depth of about 130 nm. This vertical local maximum has an homogeneous distribution in horizontal direction, which means that a thin, chlorine enriched layer has been incorporated inside the TiN layer. Nevertheless, quantification by SIMS shows that aluminum as well as chlorine concentrations of both samples are too low to influence any TiN properties. Received January 3, 2000. Revision April 4, 2000.     

Optimization of a modified aerospray deposition device for the preparation of samples for quantitative analysis by MALDI-TOFMS

A modified aerospray apparatus was used to prepare a thin layer sample of matrix and analyte for quantitative analysis by MALDI-TOFMS. The apparatus consists of a set of coaxial tubing; the liquid sample is forced by a syringe pump through the inner capillary and it is nebulized by a flow of gas through the outer capillary. The small droplets of sample exiting the device are deposited onto a rotating plate, which serves as the sample surface for a time-of-flight mass spectrometer. An optimization was carried out after initial experiments with the device resulted in poorer than expected reproducibility of analyte signal. A two-level plus center point factorial experiment was performed investigating several factors, including the inner capillary internal diameter, gas pressure, liquid flow, spray distance, and time. After optimization the within-sample reproducibility of the analyte signal improved 3-fold, while the sample-to-sample reproducibility improved 4.5-fold.