Electron spin resonance studies on radiation graft copolymerization. I. Grafting initiated by alkyl radicals trapped in irradiated polyethylene

The behavior of trapped radicals in polyethylene which is irradiated in air at room temperature, under grafting of methylmechacrylate or butadiene has been studied by electron spin resonance. Part of the alkyl radicals are converted to allyl radicals by reaction with double bonds and the others disappear by recombination under vacuum. The active species of grafting are alkyl radicals when the vapor pressure of monomers is relatively high, while at low pressure allyl radicals also play a role as well as alkyl radicals. In the grafting at 20°C, the grafting yields depend mainly on the decay rate of alkyl radicals which come out of the crystalline regions of polyethylene. The decay rate of alkyl radicals and the rate of grafting at the initial stage increase with decreasing crystallite size of polyethylene.     

Electron Spin Resonance Study on Grafting of Tetrafluoroethylene onto Polyethylene

An ESR study has been made on the course of grafting of tetrafluoroethylene onto polyethylene. Alkyl and allyl radicals trapped in the polymers were measured under various grafting conditions. It was observed that alkyl radicals decay very rapidly when monomers are in contact with the irradiated polymer, while allyl radicals decay very slowly even in the presence of monomers as in the decay of radicals in irradiated polymers without monomers. The effect of pre-irradiation temperature on grafting was also studied, and the rate of grafting was found to be much faster for lower pre-irradiation temperatures. From these experimental results it was concluded that alkyl radicals play an important Tole in the initiation reaction of grafting.     

Electron spin resonance study on chemical crosslinking reaction mechanisms of polyethylene using a chemical agent. V. Comparison with polypropylene and ethylene‐propylene copolymer

We studied the chemical reaction process of polypropylene (PP), ethylene‐propylene copolymer (EPM), and ethylene‐propylene‐diene copolymer (EPDM) crosslinking induced by dicumyl peroxide (DCP) using electron spin resonance (ESR). Free radicals appeared at an elevated temperature of around 120 °C and the behavior and kinetics of the reaction process were observed at 180 °C. The radical species detected in PP were alkyl type radicals, formed by the abstraction of hydrogen atoms from the tertiary carbon of polymer chains. For EPDM containing a diene component, the radicals were trapped at double bonds in this diene component to form allyl radicals. The resolutions of these spectra were extremely clear; hence, isotropic spectra of these polymer radicals were obtained. We measured the ESR at high temperatures and confirmed that the process of crosslinking induced by DCP was a free radical reaction. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 38: 3383–3389, 2000     

Radiation chemistry of linear low-density polyethylene. II. Kinetics of alkyl and allyl free-radical decay reactions

Quenched and annealed samples of linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) were γ irradiated in vacuo at 77 K; the kinetics of the alkyl free-radical decay reactions were studied at room temperature, and of the allyl free-radical reactions at 60, 70, and 80°C. The ESR signals saturate at a slightly higher microwave power in the LLDPE than in high-density polyethylene (HDPE), and the alkyl radicals start decaying at a lower temperature in the LLDPE than in the HDPE. As in the HDPE the decay of the alkyl free radicals at room temperature in the LLDPE follows the kinetic equation for two simultaneous first-order reactions with the fraction of the faster-decaying component being slightly greater in the quenched than in the annealed samples. In the case of the allyl free radicals the decay at 60°C follows the equation based on one fraction of the radicals decaying according to second-order kinetics in the presence of other nondecaying radicals. At higher temperatures the data are best understood in terms of a second-order rate equation with a continuously variable time-dependent rate constant as suggested by Hamill and Funabashi.     

Radical processes in polymer burning and its retardation. II. An ESR study of flame retardation of polypropylene

Qualitative and quantitative free radical transformations between polypropylene alkyl radicals, oxygen, and brominated flame retardants in the molten and gaseous phases of thermally treated samples are described. By ESR technique it has been proved that, depending on the applied pressure during pyrolysis, highly reactive peroxy radicals or less reactive radicals of the retardant are formed. For flame-retarded samples, compared with polypropylene without additives, the concentration of the primary alkyl radicals transferred from the molten to the gaseous phase is reduced by two orders of magnitude (from 7 × 10¹⁴ to 7 × 10¹² spins/0.02 g), whereas the limiting oxygen index [LOI] is raised from 17–18% to 25–26%. The great variety of physical and chemical processes proceeding in molten polymer in the preflame zone and burning gaseous phase calls for use of different retardant types with a programmed release of Br and HBr with the temperature increase. The chain oxidation of the “fuel,” a product of the endothermic decomposition of polymer, determines the temperature of self-ignition according to the number of initiating alkyl and allyl radicals formed per unit time; the [LOI] index depends more on the length of the kinetic chain of propagation reactions in the stationary process of oxidation at a given pressure.     

ESR study of radical sites in crystalline texture of irradiated polypropylene by means of nitric acid etching

Bulk-crystallized isotactic polypropylene samples with different crystalline textures were etched by fuming nitric acid to remove the disordered region. The radicals produced by irradiation of γ-rays or ultraviolet light on these etched samples in vacuum at liquid nitrogen temperature were investigated by the ESR method. A triplet spectrum in addition to the original spectrum of polypropylene radicals was separated for the etched samples. It was concluded that this triplet was caused by radical species associated with nitro groups introduced on the surface of the crystalline residues by etching. The difference in the intensity of this triplet among the samples was ascribed to differences in crystalline textures and interpreted in a quantitative way. The concentration of polypropylene radicals corrected for the triplet differed among the quenched, annealed, and cold-drawn samples and the sample annealed one after drawing. This fact was interpreted on the basis of the hypothesis that radical sites were almost concentrated in the defects of crystal domain. The well known nonet spectrum, which can be observed at liquid nitrogen temperature after annealing the irradiated samples at room temperature, was also confirmed to be attributable to the defects of crystals. The behavior of free methyl radicals induced by ultraviolet irradiation was also found to be strongly dependent on the state of aggregation of the polymer molecules.     

Pressure dependence of free radical decay in irradiated isotactic polypropylene

Free radicals were generated in isotactic polypropylene by gamma-irradiation. The samples were annealed at pressures between 1 and 8000 atm and temperatures between 60 and 110°. The concentration of free radicals was estimated by the ESR method. The rate constants of free radical decay were determined for various pressures and temperatures. The rate constant of free radical decay decreases with increasing pressure while the activation energy increases. The relationship between the kinetics of molecular motion and the kinetics of free radical decay is discussed.     

The free radical species in polyacrylonitrile fibers induced by γ-radiation and their decay behaviors

Free radicals in vacuum, air and oxygen atmospheres were studied using electron spin resonance (ESR). Mainly two types of radicals, namely alkyl radicals and polyimine radicals, are formed in polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fibers after γ-ray irradiation. The G value of the radical formation was calculated to be 2.1 (number of radicals per 100 eV absorbed) in air at room temperature based on the ESR measurements. The radical stability and decay behaviors at room temperature and elevated temperatures were also investigated under different atmospheres. The alkyl radicals were found to be rather stable when stored in vacuum at room temperature, but they decayed via reaction with oxygen when stored in air. The alkyl radicals disappeared completely after a thermal treatment at 110 °C in vacuum, but only 15% of the polyimine radicals decayed; this indicates that polyimine radicals are more stable compared to the alkyl radicals due to their lower mobility.     

Kinetic approach to radiation-induced grafting in the polyethylene-styrene system. V. The behavior of initiator radicals

With high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and low-density polyethylene (LDPE) films the grafting reactions were performed by the preirradiation method. By holding the total absorption dose constant irradiation time was varied. The initial rate of grafting decreased with irradiation time. The relative concentration of alkyl radical in the polyethylene film also decreased with irradiation time, but the relative concentration of allyl increased. The differences in the ESR spectrum before and after the introduction of styrene indicate that the allyl-type radical reacted with styrene. To elucidate these results the allyl radical in the amorphous region was considered.     

γ射线辐射医用级超高分子量聚乙烯自由基的演变

采用γ射线对医用级超高分子量聚乙烯(UHMWPE)进行辐照处理, 利用电子自旋共振波谱仪(ESR)研究了辐照诱导自由基的种类及其在氩气和不同氧分压下的衰减行为. 在氩气中, 辐射诱导UHMWPE主要产生烷基自由基和烯丙基自由基, 总的辐射化学产额约为0.48/100 eV. 室温下烷基自由基的稳定性差, 其寿命仅有 1 d左右. 在含氧气氛中, 自由基主要通过氧化反应而衰减, 其衰减速率随氧分压的增加而增加, 半衰期则由1×10⁵ Pa氩气中的224.0 h降至5×10⁵ Pa O₂气中的1.8 h. 根据此结果推算, 室温下陷落在晶区的自由基迁移至微晶表面的速率非常快, 仅需小时量级.     

Electron spin resonance studies on radiation graft copolymerization in polyethylene. II. Grafting initiated by allyl radicals trapped in irradiated polyethylene

The regions trapping allyl radicals in irradiated polyethylene and the reactivity of the radicals with various monomers have been studied by electron spin resonance. Most of the allyl radicals are trapped in defects or surfaces of the crystallite, and only 10% of the radicals are trapped inside the crystallites. Since the reactivity of the allyl radicals depends on whether they come in contact with reactive monomers, the rate of reaction is related to the concentration of the monomers. When grafting reactions are initiated by allyl radicals, the rate of initiation is rapid and the rate of termination at the initial stage is also very fast. Consequently the yield of grafting increases at the initial stage but soon levels off, which is in contrast to the grafting behavior with alkyl radicals.     

Kinetic approach to radiation–induced grafting in the polyethylene–styrene system

To investigate the mechanism of radiation-induced grafting in this system, the increase of monomer concentration in the polyethylene film in styrene vapor was evaluated by measuring the weight increase and formulated to be V([M_∞] ? [M]). The decay of radical concentration was also measured by ESR and the rate constant of the decay was determined. The alkyl type radical was affected only a little by styrene, while the allyl type radical was much affected by styrene. A new computer investigation method was proposed to clarify the reaction mechanism. The data obtained were substituted into differential equations and used to calculate the pattern of increase of the degree of grafting for the preirradiation method with reaction in the vapor phase. Results of these calculations suggest that only allyl type radicals induce grafting reactions and that the grafting reaction seldom occurs in the region of grafted polystyrene.     

Inclusion polymerization in perhydrotriphenylene studied by ESR spectroscopy: Growing chain structure and conformation of methylsubstituted polybutadienes

Inclusion polymerization of diene monomers promoted by γ rays and performed in perhydrotriphenylene was studied by ESR techniques. During polymerization of butadiene, 1,3-pentadiene, isoprene, 2,3-dimethylbutadiene, 2-methylpentadiene, and 2,4-hexadiene, spectra attributable to allyl-type radicals were collected. It was demonstrated they actually represent the propagating radicals and they do not vary over a long period of time. They are not temperature dependent in the range ?150°/ +60°C, apart from the radical of polybutadiene, suggesting that the included methyl-substituted polybutadienes are conformationally fixed. When the two opposite insertions of monomers 1,4 and 4,1 are distinguishable, the radicals bearing the higher number of methyl groups at the ends of allyl system prevail.     

Electron spin resonance studies on graft copolymerization of gaseous styrene onto preirradiated polypropylene. I. Preirradiation in the presence of oxygen

Graft copolymerization of gaseous styrene was carried out onto polypropylene preirradiated in the presence of oxygen at ?78°C and at room temperature, respectively. The origin of the graft initiation activities of these polymers was investigated by means of electron spin resonance (ESR) of trapped radicals. More grafting was found for the polymers irradiated at ?78°C than for those irradiated at room temperature. The difference of grafting between polymers irradiated at ?78°C and those irradiated at room temperature was not explained by the total amounts of trapped radicals, and it was found that all radicals are not effective in the grafting reaction. ESR measurements showed that there exist two kinds of peroxy radicals, one has more effective ability of abstracting hydrogen atoms from the surrounding polymer chains to form carbon radicals, and another is less effective at the temperature of grafting reaction (40°C). Although the samples irradiated at ?78°C contain the both types of radicals, those irradiated at room temperature do not contain the former type of radicals. It was shown that the carbon radicals produced by such a hydrogen abstraction reaction are actually the effective centers in the grafting reaction of polymers irradiated in the presence of oxygen.     

Electron spin resonance studies of propagating radicals in polymerization. I. Methacrylate propagating radicals

Ferric chloride-photosensitized free-radical initiation was used to generate propagating radicals in polymerization of methacrylic acid (MAA), allyl methacrylate (AMA), methyl methacrylate (MMA), 1,3-butylene dimethacrylate (1,3-BDMA), hydroxypropyl methacrylate (HPMA), lauryl methacrylate (LMA), hexyl methacrylate (HMA), and methacrylamide (MA) in rigid glasses of methanol or acetone at near liquid nitrogen temperatures. The formation and conformational changes of these propagating radicals at different temperatures were studied by electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy. When methanol was the rigid glass, ·CH₂OH radicals were formed initially and were stable below ?160°C. As the temperature of the rigid glass was increased, the ·CH₂OH radicals reacted with monomer to yield propagating radicals. With the exception of the propagating radical for methacrylamide, the propagating radicals of the methacrylates examined initially generated five-line ESR spectra which gradually changed to nine-line spectra, as temperature of the rigid glass was increased. It was concluded that one type of propagating radical was formed in all cases. However, when the temperature of the rigid glass was increased, the single structural conformation that initially allowed one of the methylene hydrogens and methyl group to interact with the unpaired electron to generate only a five-line spectrum was changed to yield a second conformation that allowed interaction to generate an additional four-line spectrum. Finally, a mixture of the propagating radical for methacrylate monomer in two structural conformations was obtained, and an ESR spectrum consisting of nine lines (5 + 4 lines) was generated. In the case of the propagating radical for methacrylamide this change to yield two structural conformations evidently was hindered, so that only an ESR spectrum consisting of five lines was generated.     

ESR study of free radicals in UHMW-PE fiber irradiated by gamma rays

ESR spectra of the trapped radicals in an ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMW-PE) fiber irradiated by gamma rays showed well-resolved hyperfine splitting at room temperature since the c-axis of the crystallites is aligned with the fiber direction and the radicals are trapped in crystallites. The alkyl radical (?CH₂?^?CH?CH₂?) was the major product after irradiation in vacuum and in air at room temperature. Some of the alkyl radicals converted to allyl radicals (?CH₂?^?CH?CH=CH?) and polyenyl radicals (?CH₂?^?CH?(CH=CH)_n?CH₂?) during storage in vacuum. Upon storage in air atmosphere, the alkyl radicals decayed by reaction with oxygen. Of particular interest is the very slow decay rate of the alkyl radical trapped in UHMW-PE fiber, the half-life is 26 days in vacuum, and 13 days in air at room temperature, which is about 1/30 and 1/100 of that reported for high density polyethylene (HDPE), respectively. The extremely long lifetime of the alkyl radical is supposed to be caused by the large size of crystallites in UHMW-PE fiber. The rate of radical decay was accelerated by annealing at elevated temperature.     

Morphological effects on formation and behavior of radicals in γ-irradiated polyethylene single crystals

Polyethylene single crystals differing in lamellar thickness, both as-grown and annealed with different lamellar thickness, were irradiated by γ-rays to a dose of about 10⁷ rad at liquid nitrogen temperature in vacuo, and then ESR measurements were made. It was found for the as-grown crystals that alkyl radicals were concentrated at the crystal surface. For the annealed crystals it was found that the radical concentration was greater than in the original crystals because of an increase in disorder with annealing. By assuming that the crystals form blocks upon annealing and that the surface and the interior of the blocks have the same trapping capacities for radicals as in the original crystals, the dependence of the size of the blocks upon variation in annealing temperature and the original lamellar thickness was estimated. This estimate is supported by the theory of the thickening process of single crystals. Two types of radical reactions with different reaction rates were found to occur simultaneously at room temperature. The rapid process was independent of lamellar thickness and was related to the reaction of radicals mainly in the surface region and the defects within the crystals. The slow process was strongly dependent on the lamellar thickness (i.e., the reaction rate was much depressed as the lamellar thickness was increased) and was inferred to be closely related to molecular motions manifested in viscoelastic measurements by the crystalline dispersion α_c.     

Theoretical studies of alkyl radicals in the NaY and HY zeolites

Interplay of quantum mechanical calculations and experimental data on hyperfine coupling constants of ethyl radical in zeolites at several temperatures was engaged to study the geometries and binding energies and to predict the temperature dependence of hyperfine splitting of a series of alkyl radicals in zeolites for the first time. The main focus is on the hyperfine interaction of alkyl radicals in the NaY and HY zeolites. The hyperfine splitting for neutral free radicals and free radical cations is predicted for different zeolite environments. This information can be used to establish the nature of the muoniated alkyl radicals in the NaY and HY zeolites via muSR experiments. The muon hyperfine coupling constants of the ethane radical cation in these zeolites are very large with relatively little dependence on temperature. It was found that the intramolecular dynamics of alkyl free radicals are only weakly affected by their strong binding to zeolites. In contrast, the substrate binding has a significant effect on their intermolecular dynamics.     

Electron spin resonance of radicals in γ-irradiated ethylene-propylene-polyene terpolymers

The ESR spectra resulting from γ-irradiation of the following terpolymers: ethylene-propylene-5-ethylidene-2-norbornene (EPENB), ethylene-propylene-l-isopropylidendicyclopentadiene (EPIPDCP) and ethylene-propylene-tricyclo-5.2.1.0^2.6-deca-2.5.8-triene (EPDDCP) have been investigated. Measurements with ethylene-propylene copolymer and isotactic polypropylene have been made for comparison. The results suggest that, during the irradiation at 77 K, most of the radicals can be accounted for in terms of loss of hydrogen atoms from the main EP chains. On warming above the glass transition temperature, some of the primary radicals react with termonomer units yielding new allyl type radicals. The dominant mechanism of reaction seems to be double bond addition in the case of EPIPDCP and EPDDCP and hydrogen abstraction in the case of EPENB.     

Grafting of Monochlorotrifluoroethylene onto Polyethylene by Pre-irradiation Method

Radiation-induced grafting of monochlorotrifluoroethylene onto polyethylene was carried out by a pre-irradiation method. It was observed that the grafting proceeds rapidly at temperatures from -35 to 0°C in the liquid monomer phase. By measuring ESR spectra, it was found that the grafting can be initiated by allyl radicals trapped in polyethylene. An absorption band characteristic to the grafting site was found and the band was tentatively assigned to the stretching vibration of the C-F bond situated in the vicinity of the branching position (the initiating site).