Graft polymerization of acrylamide onto LLDPE film by electron beam pre-irradiation in air and argon. II. Influence of mohr's salt

LLDPE film pre-irradiated by electron beam (EB) in air and argon was grafted in an aqueous acrylamide solution containing Mohr's salt in the concentration range 0.0025–2% The grafting rate and yield were strongly dependent on the Mohr's salt concentration, mainly as a result of chain termination. The exponential grafting rate dependence on the pre-irradiation dose was quite insensitive to a hundred-fold variation in Mohr's salt concentration. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

The grafting of acrylamide onto poly(ε‐caprolactone) and poly(1,5‐dioxepan‐2‐one) using electron beam preirradiation. I. Influence of dose and Mohr's salt for the grafting onto poly(ε‐caprolactone)

Poly(ε‐caprolactone) films (TONE® 787) were irradiated by electron beam in air prior to grafting in aqueous solutions of acrylamide. The grafting kinetics and molecular weight of the grafted poly(acrylamide) chains were studied with irradiation doses between 2.5 and 20 Mrad and in the Mohr's salt concentration range of 0.0025–1 wt %. The grafting rate and yield were strongly dependent on the Mohr's salt concentration. By molecular weight analysis of grafted poly(acrylamide) chains, it was shown that the molecular weight is approximately proportional to the mass of the grafted PAAm. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 37: 1643–1649, 1999     

Grafting of acrylic acid onto radiation-peroxidized polypropylene film in the presence of ferrous ion

Acrylic acid has been grafted from aqueous solution onto 70 μ isotactic polypropylene-film previously peroxidized by irradiating in air with both 400 keV electrons and γ-radiation from a ⁶⁰Co source. Ferrous ion has been used to induce the redox decomposition of the macromolecular peroxy species at temperatures between 0 and 40°C. It has been shown that the effect of low [Fe²⁺] is to increase grafting rates, but that at [Fe²⁺] > 8 × 10^?4 molal the retarding effect of the reducing ion becomes increasingly important. At constant [Fe²⁺] a pronounced maximum in rate is observed at around 50 wt-% of acrylic acid; this may be related to increased swelling of the polymer matrix at this point. The initial rate of grafting increases as the square root of the preirradiation dose and, in the preirradiation dose rate range, 1.6–8.0 Mrad/sec, is independent of the dose rate. The grafting rate during the later stages of the reaction, however, increases as the preirradiation dose rate decreases. In the temperature range 0–40°C, the overall activation energy is 19 kcal/mole; from this value, the activation energy of initiation has been estimated to be around 20 kcal/mole.     

Cation exchange membranes by pre-irradiation grafting of styrene into FEP films. I. Influence of synthesis conditions

Gamma radiation-induced grafting of styrene into FEP films was investigated by the pre-irradiation method. The degree of grafting was found to be strongly dependent on the synthesis conditions, such as radiation dose, monomer concentration, crosslinker, temperature, and film thickness. The order of dependence of the rate of grafting on pre-irradiation dose and monomer concentration was found to be 0.64 and 1.90, respectively. The activation energy for the grafting in the temperature range of 50–80°C was determined to be 27.9 kJ/mol. A negative first order dependence of grafting on film thickness was observed. The results suggest that the initial grafting takes place at the film surface and proceeds to the middle by progressive diffusion of monomer through the polystyrene grafted layers. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Preparation and Properties of Polyether Pentaerythritol Mono‐maleate grafted Linear Low Density Polyethylene by Reactive Extrusion

A reactive type nonionic surfactant, polyether pentaerythritol mono‐maleate (PPMM) was synthesized in our laboratory. PPMM was adopted as a functionalizing monomer and grafted onto linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) with a melt reactive extrusion procedure. FT‐IR was used to characterize the formation of grafting copolymer and evaluate their degree of grafting. The effects of monomer concentration, reaction temperature and screw run speed on the degree of grafting were studied systematically. Isothermal crystallization kinetics of LLDPE and LLDPE‐g‐PPMM samples was carried out using DSC. Crystallization rates of grafted LLDPE were faster than that of plain LLDPE at the same crystallization temperature. The tensile properties and light transmission of blown films were determined. Comparing with neat LLDPE film, no obvious changes could be found for the tensile strength, elongation at break and right angle tearing strength of LLDPE‐g‐PPMM film. The wettability is expressed by the water contact angle. With an increasing percentage of PPMM, the contact angles of water on film surface of LLDPE‐g‐PPMM decrease monotonically. The acceleration dripping property of film samples was investigated. The dripping duration of LLDPE‐g‐PPMM film and commercial anti‐fog dripping film at 60°C were 76 days and 17 days, respectively.     

Radiation-induced degradation of polyethylene: Role of amorphous region in the formation of oxygenated products and the mechanical properties

Quenched samples of linear low density, medium density and two kinds of high density polyethylene films were irradiated with γ-rays from a ⁶⁰Co source in vacuum and in air at room temperature with irradiation doses ranging from 0 to 100 Mrad. On irradiation in vacuum the extent of crosslinking was about one-and-a-half times greater in the linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) than in the high density polyethylene (HDPE). On the other hand, irradiation in air produced more crosslinking in high density polyethylene (HDPE). Growth of trans-vinylene unsaturation was found around 10 Mrad in all the samples. Initial increase in elongation and breaking strength (below 5 Mrad) occurred, which was followed by a decrease with increasing dose. LLDPE showed some elongation even at 50 Mrad, while the other samples became brittle and broke at doses far below this value. The mechanism of oxidative degradation is discussed.     

Kinetics and mechanism of the grafting of 2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate onto hydrocarbon substrates

The kinetics of grafting a basic monomer, 2-(dimethylamino)-ethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA) to hydrocarbon substrates have been investigated. These systems were chosen as models for the grafting of a homopolymerizable monomer to polyolefins such as polyethylene. The reactions with squalane and n-eicosane were initiated by an organic peroxide, 2,5-dimethyl 2,5 dit-butylperoxy)-3-hexyne; grafting yields become significant at high reaction temperatures and low monomer concentrations. In squalane, the order of reaction with respect to monomer increased from about 1.1 for 0.22?0.44M DMAEMA to almost 2 at 0.69M DMAEMA; the order with respect to initiator was 0.56. The overall activation energy in the 130?160°C temperature range was, however, surprisingly low, 42±5 kJ mol^?1. When analytical data were used to separate the overall rate into those for grafting and homopolymerization, different kinetic paths were observed for the competing reactions. These results are interpreted in terms of two different mechanisms; intramolecular chain transfer plays an important role in grafting, while depropagation becomes a major factor in homopolymerization at temperatures above 150°C. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Effect of reaction conditions on the grafting of 2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate onto hydrocarbon substrates

The grafting of 2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA) onto two model hydrocarbons, squalane and n-eicosane, and to linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) has been investigated. The results of the study indicate that a high reaction temperature, 160°C, and a low concentration of monomer, less than 0.3 M, are optimum conditions for the grafting reaction. Reaction products, which consisted of grafted hydrocarbons and poly(DMAEMA), were separated by solvent extraction and vacuum distillation; samples were then analyzed by NMR and FTIR spectroscopy and size exclusion chromatography. ¹H-NMR spectroscopy indicates that grafted squalane contained approximately 6 DMAEMA units per squalane residue. ¹H- and ¹³C-NMR and molecular weight studies strongly suggest that the grafts onto the model hydrocarbons consist of single DMAEMA units. Results of the melt grafting of DMAEMA onto LLDPE show that the grafting efficiency and degree of grafting are substantially lower than were expected from the model system. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Oxidative degradation products of irradiated polyethylene

Oxidative thermal degradation products of polyethylenes at various temperatures crosslinked with electron beams have been analyzed with gas chromatography and mass spectrometry techniques. Carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide are determined at a temperature range of 200–340°C, and the activation energies of the unirradiated and the irradiated polyethylene (at 100 Mrad) are 13.5 and 11.4 Kcal/mole, respectively. C₁ to C₈ hydrocarbons produced in air and in nitrogen are determined at temperatures from 400 to 450°C for the polyethylenes. The irradiated polyethylene produces less hydrocarbons in air than the unirradiated polyethylene, contrary to the fact that the crosslinked polymer evolves more hydrocarbons than the unirradiated polymer in a nitrogen atmosphere. Aldehydes and ketones are observed in the volatile oxidative degradation products, and these carbonyl compounds increase quantitatively with increase of temperature up to about 460°C. It is concluded that irradiated polyethylene is thermally more unstable in the absence of oxygen and more easily oxidable at low degradation temperatures in air than unirradiated polyethylene. Irradiated polyethylene, however, is more heat-stable than unirradiated polyethylene from the standpoint of the ignition process.     

Mechanical properties,surface morphology and failure mode of γ-ray irradiated blends of polypropylene and ethylene-vinyl acetate rubber

The effect of ⁶⁰Co γ-radiation on the mechanical properties, surface morphology and failure characteristics of blends of polypropylene [PP] and ethylene-vinyl acetate rubber [EVA] has been studied with specific reference to the effect of blend ratio, dynamic crosslinking of the rubber phase and absorbed radiation doses. Samples were subjected to radiation in the dose range of 1 to 100 Mrad in air at room temperature at the rate of 0·321 Mrad/h. Both chain scission and crosslinking occur simultaneously in the blend samples. PP and blends containing higher proportions of PP (≥50%) undergo predominant chain scission at lower doses (≤50 Mrad), which causes a drastic drop in tensile strength, followed by a levelling out at higher doses of 100 Mrad. EVA undergoes crosslinking at lower doses resulting in an increase in tensile strength in the dose range 1 to 10 Mrad followed by a decrease in the range 10–25 Mrad. Further increase in radiation dose has little effect on tensile strength. The effect of radiation on stress-strain behaviour, elongation at break, energy at rupture and hardness was also studied. The morphology of the irradiated surfaces after an absorbed dose of 100 Mrad has been examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). In order to understand the effect of γ-radiation on the failure mechanism, tensile failure surfaces of both unirradiated and irradiated samples have also been examined by SEM.     

Radiation grafting of styrene onto poly(vinylidene fluoride) films in propanol: The influence of solvent and synthesis conditions

Electron‐beam‐irradiated poly(vinylidene fluoride) films were grafted with styrene with propanol or toluene as a solvent. The influence of the synthesis conditions and, more particularly, of the solvent was investigated. In propanol, the order of dependence of the grafting rate is 0.43 on the pre‐irradiation dose and 1.2 on the monomer concentration. The activation energy of the grafting reaction in propanol is approximately 73 kJ/mol. Both the initial grafting rate and the saturation degree of grafting are considerably higher in propanol, which is unable to swell polystyrene grafts, than in toluene, which diffuses with styrene through the grafted moiety. The grafting solvent also influences the structure of the membrane: films grafted in propanol have a much reduced elongation at break and a rougher surface. It is suggested that phase‐separated polystyrene domains may be larger when grafting is carried out in a styrene–propanol solution. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 38: 1512–1519, 2000     

Preparation,Characterization and Properties of Reactive Type Dripping Agent Tween 60-IAH and Their Grafting Copolymer With Linear Low Density Polyethylene

A kind of reactive type dripping agent (Tween 60-IAH) was synthesized with polyethylene glycol sorbitan monostearate (Tween 60) and itaconic anhydride (IAH) as main starting materials. The chemical structure of Tween 60-IAH was characterized by means of Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. The effect of reaction time on conversion of Tween 60-IAH was studied. The results of thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) measurement demonstrated that Tween 60-IAH exhibited a better thermal stability than Tween 60. Grafting copolymer of linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) with Tween 60-IAH was prepared in twin-screw extruder. Thermal and rheological properties of grafted LLDPE samples were investigated with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and rotational rheometer. Crystallization temperatures of grafted LLDPE were higher than that of LLDPE. Complex viscosities of grafted LLDPE at high shear rates were lower than that of LLDPE. The dripping properties of film samples were investigated at 60°C.     

Fire safety evaluation of expanded polystyrene foam by multi-scale methods

Microscale thermal analysis, bench scale cone calorimetric and real scale burning tests were conducted to evaluated fire safety performance of expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam. Simultaneous thermal analysis was used to study the thermal degradation of the foam in nitrogen, air, and oxygen environments at four heating rates. An endothermic effect is observed only in nitrogen environment, while two exothermic effects are observed in oxygen and air environments. In the nitrogen environment, the onset temperature of the endothermic effect and the endothermic peak temperature are much higher than that of the exothermic processes observed in air and oxygen environments. The Flynn–Wall–Ozawa method is utilized to analyze the degradation kinetics of the non-isothermal thermogravimetry. The activation energies calculated for an air environment, in a conversion range α = 20–70 %, are lower than those for an oxygen environment. The temperature range for this conversion range is 275–371 °C. The enthalpies of the first exothermic effect exceed that of the oxygen environment by 10–45 %. Bench scale cone calorimetric tests were carried out at incident heat flux of 25, 35, and 50 kW m^?2 with two sets of cone equipment. Heat release rate, ignition time, effective heat of combustion, and critical heat flux required for ignition is obtained. In real scale burning tests, the EPS boards were ignited in sandwich structures. Fire spread speeds were derived from temperature measurement inside sandwich structure.     

Study on pre-irradiation grafting of BSANASI conjugates on agarose and its application

In this work we used N-acryloxysuccinimide (NASI) with a function group as the intermediate to graft the Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA), passthrough BSA / NASI conjugates, onto agarose which has been pre-irradiated in Co-60 γ-source.Preparation of BSA / NASI conjugates was carried out at 37°C for 2h, the molar ratio of BSA and NASI in reaction is 1:6. Pre-irradiation of agarose sample was carried out at room temperature in air and grafting was performed below 37°C for 5h under bubbling nitrogen. The total dose used was lower than 7 kGy.This technique is applicable to immobilize BSA and other proteins or separate the tryptophans enantiomer as well.     

Effects of electron beam preirradiation on the γ radiolysis of polyethylene

The γ radiolysis of polyethylene preirradiated with electron beams to 3 Mrad was carried out at 30–100°C in vacuo with a dose rate of 6.35 × 10⁵ rad/hr. The hydrogen formation in the γ radiolysis was little affected by the preirradiation of electron beams, whereas the formation of trans-vinylene unsaturation and gel was somewhat retarded. The rates of the formation of hydrogen and trans-vinylene unsaturation were described by the zero-order formation kinetics with respect to each concentration combined with the first-order disappearance. The apparent rate constants and activation energies for the formation and disappearance of hydrogen and trans-vinylene unsaturation were almost independent of the preirradiation. The gel fraction was analyzed by using the Charlesby–Pinner equation. The G values of crosslinking and main chain scission were increased by the preirradiation, whereas their activation energies remained unaltered. On the basis of these results the effects of preirradiation on the reactions induced by γ rays in polyethylene were discussed.     

Effects of gamma-radiation on natural rubber vulcanizates under tension

The effect of γ-radiation on natural rubber vulcanizates under mechanical strain has been investigated with reference to the effect of antidegradants, fillers and vulanization system. Samples were irradiated in the dose range of 5–15 Mrad in air at room temperature (25°C) at a rate of 0.3 Mrad/h. Sol content and volume fraction of vulcanizates were also determined to gain insight into the network structure of the irradiated vulcanizates. Natural rubber vulcanizates undergo molecular scission which in effect cause a decrease in tensile strength. Generally the 300% modulus increases, the increment being more prominent at lower radiation dose. The fall in tensile strength is also high at higher doses of radiation. Carbon black and antidegradants protect rubber from γ-radiation.     

Preirradiation grafting of N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone onto poly(tetrafluoroethylene) and poly(tetrafluoroethylene-hexafluoropropylene) films

Preirradiation grafting of N-vinylpyrrolidone (NVP) onto poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE) and poly(tetrafluoroethylene-hexafluoropropylene) (FEP) films was investigated. The influence of grafting parameters such as preirradiation dose, monomer concentration, and grafting temperature on the rate and grafting yield was studied. Different solvents were used for diluting the monomer and it was found that the aqueous monomer solution at a concentration of 80 wt% was suitable for this grafting system. However, the graft polymerization of NVP in benzene terminated within a short time without significant grafting yield. The dependence of the grafting rate on preirradiation dose and monomer concentration was 1.2 and 1.07 order, respectively, for grafting onto PTFE films and 1.1 and 1.2 order, respectively, for grafting onto FEP films. Arrhenius plots for grafting onto PTFE films showed a breaking point at ca. 35°C and the overall activation energies were calculated as 23.6 and 9.0 Kcal/mol below and above 35°C, respectively. For grafting onto FEP films, however, no break was observed in the Arrhenius plots; the overall activation energy was 11.9 Kcal/mol. The swelling behavior and electric resistance of the grafted materials were investigated.     

Morphology,structure, and properties of in situ compatibilized linear low‐density polyethylene/polystyrene and linear low‐density polyethylene/high‐impact polystyrene blends

Blends of linear low‐density polyethylene (LLDPE) with polystyrene (PS) and blends of LLDPE with high‐impact polystyrene (HIPS) were prepared through a reactive extrusion method. For increased compatibility of the two blending components, a Lewis acid catalyst, aluminum chloride (AlCl₃), was adopted to initiate the Friedel–Crafts alkylation reaction between the blending components. Spectra data from Raman spectra of the LLDPE/PS/AlCl₃ blends extracted with tetrahydrofuran verified that LLDPE segments were grafted to the para position of the benzene rings of PS, and this confirmed the graft structure of the Friedel–Crafts reaction between the polyolefin and PS. Because the in situ generated LLDPE‐g‐PS and LLDPE‐g‐HIPS copolymers acted as compatibilizers in the relative blending systems, the mechanical properties of the LLDPE/PS and LLDPE/HIPS blending systems were greatly improved. For example, after compatibilization, the Izod impact strength of an LLDPE/PS blend (80/20 w/w) was increased from 88.5 to 401.6 J/m, and its elongation at break increased from 370 to 790%. For an LLDPE/HIPS (60/40 w/w) blend, its Charpy impact strength was increased from 284.2 to 495.8 kJ/m². Scanning electron microscopy micrographs showed that the size of the domains decreased from 4–5 to less than 1 μm, depending on the content of added AlCl₃. The crystallization behavior of the LLDPE/PS blend was investigated with differential scanning calorimetry. Fractionated crystallization phenomena were noticed because of the reduction in the size of the LLDPE droplets. The melt‐flow rate of the blending system depended on the competition of the grafting reaction of LLDPE with PS and the degradation of the blending components. The degradation of PS only happened during the alkylation reaction between LLDPE and PS. Gel permeation chromatography showed that the alkylation reaction increased the molecular weight of the blend polymer. The low molecular weight part disappeared with reactive blending. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 41: 1837–1849, 2003     

Fundamental studies of grafting reactions in free radical copolymerization. III. Grafting of styrene,acrylate, and methacrylate monomers onto cis-polybutadiene using benzoyl peroxide initiator in solution polymerization

Benzoyl peroxide (BPO), due to its higher radical reactivity as compared to AIBN, is known to promote grafting onto cis-polybutadiene. Switching from AIBN to BPO initiator made a dramatic difference in the extent of grafting for styrene and methacrylate monomers, but only a modest difference for acrylate monomer. For styrene and methacrylate monomers, graft site formation is due to BPO initiator radical attack onto the backbone via allylic hydrogen abstraction. Significant levels of grafting are achieved and depend upon the relative concentrations of monomer and backbone polymer but not upon the level of initiator. For acrylic monomer, graft site formation was found to be due to polymer radical attack at the double bond in the backbone. Abstraction of allylic hydrogen also occurs but results in retardation of the overall reaction rate. Graft level was dependent upon initiator and back-bone polymer concentrations but not upon monomer concentration. The effective role of the initiator is only to produce polymer radicals; the BPO has no direct role in the formation of effective graft sites. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Effects of reaction conditions on the structure of graft copolymer

In order to advance the studies of radiation graft copolymerization, we have presented the theory of coupling graft copolymerization and apply it to the investigation of the grafting of methylmethacrylate on to pre-irradiated polystyrene.