JOURNAL OF MACROMOLECULAR SCIENCE-PURE AND APPLIED CHEMISTRY, sa.9, ss.947-961, 2003 (SCI-Expanded)
in this study, graft polymerization of 2-acrylamido-2-methyl propane sulfonic acid (AMPS) on poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) films using cerium ammonium nitrate (CeAN) as an initiator was investigated. Before the polymerization reaction was carried out, films were swelled in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) at 140degreesC for I h. The effect of polymerization temperature, time, initiator, and monomer concentrations on the graft yield were investigated. It was observed that the graft yield was initially increased with increasing temperature, monomer, and initiator concentrations; and then decreased. Graft yield was found to increase with increasing polymerization time up to 5 h, then remain constant. The effects of monomer and initiator inclusions on the grafting yield were also examined. Optimum conditions for grafting were found to be [AMPS] = 1.0M, [Ce4+] = 1.5 x 10(-2) M, T = 85degreesC and t = 5 h. The rate of grafting was found to be proportional to the 0.1 and 0.4 powers of monomer and initiator concentrations, respectively. The overall activation energy for the grafting was calculated to be 11.4 kcal mol(-1). The effect of grafting on PET film properties such as intrinsic viscosity and water absorption capacity were determined. The grafted PET films were characterized with FTIR spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).