The effects of selected organic solvents on the polymerization of acrylic acid to poly(ethylene terephthalate) by glow discharge

✍ Scribed by You-Lo Hsieh; Colleen Pugh; M. S. Ellison

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1984
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 649 KB
• Volume: 29
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0021-8995
• DOI: 10.1002/app.1984.070291128

✦ Synopsis

Six organic solvents with solubility parameters close to those of poly(ethy1ene terephthalate) (PET), namely, dimethyl sulfoxide, y-butyrolactone, dimethyl formamide, pyridine, tetrachlorethane, and chlorobezene, were selected as swelling agents to promote the incorporation and the subsequent polymerization of acrylic acid to PET films. Variables studied included time of swelling, temperature of swelling, and length of glow discharge treatment. Elevated temperature had greater effects on the inclusion of the swelling agents and acrylic acid than did the length of swelling. Polymerization was generally increased with longer glow discharge treatment time. Surface wettability as well as the moisture regain values of PET films were greatly improved by both the solvent and the glow discharge treatments. The solvent-assisted glow discharge polymerization process was found to impose modification of PET films not restricted to the surface. Morphological modification of the treated PET was confirmed by DSC data.