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Physical properties of silk fibers grafted with vinyltrimethoxysilane
Author(s) -
Tsukada Masuhiro,
Arai Takayuki,
Winkler Stefan,
Freddi Giuliano,
Ishikawa Hiroshi
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/1097-4628(20010307)79:10<1764::aid-app40>3.0.co;2-e
Subject(s) - silk , methacrylamide , materials science , monomer , grafting , thermal stability , polymer chemistry , ultimate tensile strength , fiber , methacrylate , polymerization , composite material , polymer science , polymer , chemical engineering , acrylamide , engineering
Silk fibers from Bombyx mori silkworms were grafted using a novel grafting monomer, vinyltrimethoxysilane (VTMSi), with various grafting initiators. The effects of these grafting initiators were evaluated. It was possible to successfully copolymerize VTMSi within the silk fiber matrix without disturbing the fine structure of the fiber matrix, which was shown by FTIR analysis and refractive index measurements. The physical properties of VTMSi grafted silk were analyzed and compared to fibers grafted with conventional monomers such as methyl methacrylate, methacrylamide, and 2‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate. No trend in the tensile strength and elongation at break was observed when grafting silk fibers with VTMSi. Crease recovery in the wet state improved significantly, suggesting that this new grafting technique is important for the production of washable silk fabrics. The thermal stability of VTMSi grafted silk fibers was improved as shown by the shift of the endothermic peak for the thermal decomposition toward higher temperatures. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 79: 1764–1770, 2001