A new type of polymer-polymer PVC systems with surface layers converted into hydroxyethylcyclam nanofilms of the type “hard coating on soft substrate”

Abstract

With the aim of classifying PVC materials in which surface layers are converted into interpenetrated network cyclam nanofilms among polymer-polymer systems, comparative studies of their properties were carried out with consideration for the specific conditions for the preparation of the material. The density and structures of near-surface layers, the bulk ratio of the ordered and disordered forms, the dynamics of swelling in water, and the effective partial volume occupied by water molecules were studied for PVC plates prior to and after hydrothermal treatment. The conversion of the surface layers changes the structural self-organization of PVC: the polymer structure becomes more compact and ordered both in the area adjacent to the nanofilm and in the polymer bulk, which is characteristic of systems of the type “hard coating on soft substrate”.