Radiation grafting of acrylic acid onto polypropylene films

• Published in: International journal of radiation applications and instrumentation. Part C, Radiation physics and chemistry Radiation physics and chemistry, 1990, Vol.36 (6), p.785-790
• Main Authors: Taher, N.H., Dessouki, A.M., Khalil, F.H.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1359-0197; 1878-1020
• DOI: 10.1016/1359-0197(90)90179-L

A study has been made for the preparation of membranes by the direct radiation grafting of acrylic acid (AAc) onto polypropylene (PP) films. The appropriate reaction conditions were selected under which the graft polymerization was carried out successfully. The effect of different solvents such as benzene, methanol/water mixture, isopropanol/water mixture, dimethyl formalide and distilled water on the swelling and grafting process of AAc onto PP films was investigated. In this grafting system ammonium ferrous sulphate (Mohr's salt) and ferric chloride were used as inhibitors to minimize the homopolymerization of AAc and the suitable concentration of the inhibitor was found to be 1.0 and 1.5 wt% for Mohr's salt and ferric chloride, respectively. Also, the effect of monomer concentration on the rate of grafting was investigated. The dependence of the grafting rate on monomer concentration was found to be 1.1 order. This grafting system proceeded by diffusion controlled process. Some selected properties of the grafted films such as swelling behavior, gel determination, mechanical and electrical properties were also investigated. It was found that the grafted membranes possess good hydrophilic properties which may make them promising in some practical applications.