Grafting Vinyl Monomers onto Nylon 6 Fiber. IV. Graft Copolymerization of Ethyl Methacrylate onto Nylon 6 Fiber by Photoirradiation

Grafting of nylon 6 fiber was carried out using ethyl methacrylate (EMA) as the monomer in various water-alcohol systems (i.e., water-methanol, water-ethanol and water-n-propanol; water-alcohol ratio 1:1) at 70°C using a carbon arc lamp as the source of photochemical initiation. Percent graft add-on (% GAO) increases continuously and linearly with an increase in monomer concentration irrespective of the media used. The % GAO, however, decreases with an increase in the alkyl chain length of the alcohol used in the following order: water-methanol > water-ethanol > water-n-propanol. With an increase in the time period of grafting, % GAO and total polymer yield (% TPY) increase continuously in all three media whereas the grafting efficiency (GE) first increases and then falls after reaching a maximum level. Although a similar trend is maintained in the three systems, there is a decrease in overall % TPY and % GAO from the water-methanol system to the water-n-propanol system through the water-ethanol system.