Abstract
Electron-beam-irradiated poly(vinylidene fluoride) films were grafted with styrene with propanol or toluene as a solvent. The influence of the synthesis conditions and, more particularly, of the solvent was investigated. In propanol, the order of dependence of the grafting rate is 0.43 on the pre-irradiation dose and 1.2 on the monomer concentration. The activation energy of the grafting reaction in propanol is approximately 73 kJ/mol. Both the initial grafting rate and the saturation degree of grafting are considerably higher in propanol, which is unable to swell polystyrene grafts, than in toluene, which diffuses with styrene through the grafted moiety. The grafting solvent also influences the structure of the membrane: films grafted in propanol have a much reduced elongation at break and a rougher surface. It is suggested that phase-separated polystyrene domains may be larger when grafting is carried out in a styrene–propanol solution. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 38: 1512–1519, 2000
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