Showing papers by "Mohamed Mahmoud Nasef published in 2001"

Effect of solvents on radiation‐induced grafting of styrene onto fluorinated polymer films

Abstract: The effect of solvents on radiation-induced grafting of styrene onto commercial fluorinated polymer films such as poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE), poly(tetrafluoroethylene-co-hexafluoropropylene) (FEP) and poly(tetrafluoroethylene-co-perfluorovinyl ether) (PFA) was investigated by a simultaneous irradiation technique. Three solvents, ie methanol, benzene and dichloromethane, were used to dilute styrene under various irradiation doses, dose rates and monomer concentrations. The effect of addition of mineral and organic acids on the degree of grafting in the presence of the three solvents was also studied. The degree of grafting was found to be strongly dependent upon the type of solvent and composition of the monomer/solvent mixture. Dilution of styrene with dichloromethane in various grafting conditions was found to enhance dramatically the degree of grafting compared with other solvents, and the maximum degree of grafting was achieved at a monomer/solvent mixture having a composition of 60:40 (v/v). The formation of polystyrene grafts in the three fluorinated films was verified using FTIR spectrometry. © 2001 Society of Chemical Industry