Synthesis and characterization of polyethylene modified through phase-transfer-catalyzed graft copolymerization

✍ Scribed by Inderjeet Kaur; Ramesh Dogra; Simrat Kaur; N. Deepika

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2008
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 315 KB
• Volume: 108
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0021-8995
• DOI: 10.1002/app.27001

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

In an effort to impart biodegradability, polyethylene (PE) was modified through the graft copolymerization of vinyl monomers such as acrylamide (AAm) and acrylic acid (AAc) by a phase‐transfer‐catalyst method. The grafting percentage of AAm and AAc for PE was found to be dependent on the dibenzoyl peroxide concentration, monomer concentration, time, temperature, and concentration of the phase‐transfer catalyst. Some AAm‐ and AAc‐grafted PE samples were prepared by chemical, UV, and γ‐radiation methods. The biodegradation of samples of PE, polyethylene‐g‐polyacrylamide, and polyethylene‐g‐poly(acrylic acid) prepared by all these methods was studied. The weight loss of the samples over a period of time was observed with soil‐burial tests. The grafted samples prepared by the phase‐transfer‐catalyst method showed better biodegradation results than those prepared by other methods of grafting. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008