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Synthesis and characterization of polyethylene modified through phase‐transfer‐catalyzed graft copolymerization
Author(s) -
Kaur Inderjeet,
Dogra Ramesh,
Kaur Simrat,
Deepika N.
Publication year - 2007
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/app.27001
Subject(s) - grafting , acrylic acid , polyethylene , copolymer , acrylamide , monomer , biodegradation , catalysis , polymer chemistry , materials science , phase transfer catalyst , polyacrylamide , phase (matter) , chemistry , nuclear chemistry , chemical engineering , polymer , organic chemistry , composite material , engineering
In an effort to impart biodegradability, polyethylene (PE) was modified through the graft copolymerization of vinyl monomers such as acrylamide (AAm) and acrylic acid (AAc) by a phase‐transfer‐catalyst method. The grafting percentage of AAm and AAc for PE was found to be dependent on the dibenzoyl peroxide concentration, monomer concentration, time, temperature, and concentration of the phase‐transfer catalyst. Some AAm‐ and AAc‐grafted PE samples were prepared by chemical, UV, and γ‐radiation methods. The biodegradation of samples of PE, polyethylene‐ g ‐polyacrylamide, and polyethylene‐ g ‐poly(acrylic acid) prepared by all these methods was studied. The weight loss of the samples over a period of time was observed with soil‐burial tests. The grafted samples prepared by the phase‐transfer‐catalyst method showed better biodegradation results than those prepared by other methods of grafting. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008