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Bulk grafting of poly(styrene‐ alt ‐maleic anhydride) onto preirradiated polyolefin membranes in supercritical carbon dioxide
Author(s) -
Wang YiMing,
Shao SongHai,
Lin Fei
Publication year - 2012
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.38227
Subject(s) - materials science , maleic anhydride , polymer chemistry , polyolefin , copolymer , supercritical carbon dioxide , supercritical fluid , polymerization , grafting , styrene , membrane , differential scanning calorimetry , monomer , polymer , chemical engineering , organic chemistry , composite material , chemistry , biochemistry , physics , layer (electronics) , thermodynamics , engineering
Abstract To take advantage of the property of supercritical carbon dioxide as both a solvent and swelling agent, the bulk grafting of poly(styrene‐ alt ‐maleic anhydride) [P(MAH‐ alt ‐St)] onto preirradiated polyolefin membranes was performed by a combination of γ‐ray‐preirradiation‐induced graft copolymerization and supercritical fluid‐swollen polymerization. The trapped radicals on the polyolefin backbones were uniformly distributed by γ‐ray irradiation under a nitrogen atmosphere. Subsequently, these polymeric trapped radicals initiated the alternating copolymerization of styrene (St) and maleic anhydride (MAH) infused into the swollen polymer matrix with the aid of supercritical CO 2 . It was important that the graft copolymers were relatively pure without any contaminants, including homopolymers, monomers, and initiators. The experimental results show that the degree of grafting could be easily controlled. In addition, St/MAH could synergistically promote the bulk grafting process and strongly effect on the alternating trend; this was confirmed by element analysis and differential scanning calorimetry. Soxhlet extraction, X‐ray diffraction, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy indicated that the P(MAH‐ alt ‐St) was covalently bonded to the polymeric backbones. Scanning electron microscopy showed that the alternating graft chains were uniformly dispersed throughout the 5‐mm thickness of the polymer membranes on the nanometer scale. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013