Investigation of synergism during radiation graft copolymerization of binary mixtures of vinyl monomers onto different textile fabrics by a dyeing method

Abstract

Radiation-induced graft copolymerization of binary mixtures of acrylic acid (AAc) and styrene (S) onto cotton, cotton/polyester’ and viscose rayon has been investigated. The different factors that may affect the total graft yield (the sum of polyacrylic acid (PAAc) fraction and polystyrene (PS) fraction, such as solvent composition, comonomer mixture, and irradiation dose were studied. It was found that there is always a certain solvent composition of (MeOH and H2O) and comonomer mixture at which a maximum value of total graft yield (TGY) was obtained. Moreover, the TGY was greatly influenced by other factors such as radiation dosage. An attempt was made to investigate synergism during graft copolymerization, i.e. the effect of each monomer on the other and their participation in the resulting graft copolymer. In this respect, the PAAc and PS graft fractions in the resulting graft copolymers of the different textile fabrics under investigation were determined approximately by dyeing with basic dye (Sandocryl Blue) and disperse dye (Samaron Blue FBL). By this method, it was possible to determine each fraction in the graft copolymer. It was also observed that the graft copolymerization increased the dye affinity for such dyestuffs to a great extent. The accuracy and validity of the dyeing method applied was supported by the estimation of the carboxyl group content by analytical technique based on acid–base volumetric titration. ©1997 SCI