Functionalization of polymer surfaces by radiation-induced grafting

The mutual radiation grafting of acrylic acid (AAc) onto polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP) and polystyrene (PS) films was performed. At first stage of investigations, the influence of ionizing radiation on the trunk polymers was studied, i.e. the level of radicals stable at room temperature and radiation yield of evolved hydrogen were estimated for each polymer. The measurements were carried out using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy and gas chromatography (GC), respectively. Radiation yields of radicals as well as hydrogen emission increased in the following order PS < PP < PE. Under comparable conditions, the same relationship was found for the yield of radiation-induced grafting of AAc. A distinct correlation between content of radicals generated by ionizing radiation in polymeric matrices and grafting degree was confirmed for the studied materials. The effect of monomer and inhibitor concentrations on the efficiency of processes were studied as well.