Copolymerization of acrylic acid to nylon-6 by trapped radicals—I. Vapour phase grafting

✍ Scribed by M.B. Huglin; J. Smith

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1981
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 483 KB
• Volume: 17
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0014-3057
• DOI: 10.1016/0014-3057(81)90143-9

✦ Synopsis

Film of nylon-6 has been ;,-irradiated in vacuo to various doses D. Grafting has been effected by subsequent exposure in ~acuo to vapour at 50 of composition 9.1 wt"{, acrylic acid and 90.9 wt". water. Determinations have been made of total vapour uptake as well as the individual swellings due to monomer and water. For D ~ ca. 2 Mrad. the initial rate of grafting R~ increased with D in accord with R ° ;c D# with fl = 0.45 +_ 0.05, thus suggesting bimolecular chain termination. However, for D > ca. 2 Mrad, there is no further increase in Ro. This is attributed in part to the fact that the radical yield is proportional to dose only for D ~< ca. 2.5 Mrad. Diffusion controlled grafting has been predicted elsewhere to be characterized by fi -0.67. Grafting proceeds from the surface and the initial stages are concluded to be essentially free from diffusion control, since (a) fl ~-0.67, (b) the rate of uptake of monomer vapour > Rg and (cl a large change in film thickness yields only a very small change in R,,.