Radiation Induced Crosslinking of Ethylene Vinyl Acetate Copolymers Hosting Sulfonic Acid Groups and Their Potential Applications

Abstract

The effect of ionizing radiation on the properties of untreated ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA), sulfonated EVA and polyethylene‐ethylene vinyl acetate blend (PE/EVA) was investigated. The crosslinking of the samples was studied on the basis of gel‐content measurements, as well as some thermal and mechanical properties of the specimens. The results indicated that EVA and sulfonated EVA were more sensitive to the electron beam irradiation. The improvement in the measured gel content, tensile strength, and elongation at break and heat resistance of the EVA and sulfonated EVA has confirmed the positive effect of low doses electron beam irradiation on such copolymers. The crosslinked sulfonated EVA membranes were used for sucrose hydrolysis. The catalytic activity of the membranes was found to be dependent on the reaction temperature and the amount of the sulfonic acid groups hosted in the EVA membranes. The results of this work suggest that crosslinked sulfonated EVA membranes have a strong potential to replace liquid sulfuric acid and ion exchange resins in sugar hydrolysis processes.