HETEROGENEOUS GRAFTING CHEMISTRY USING RESIDUAL UNSATURATION AS A GRAFT SITE PRECURSOR

Hydroboration of residual carbon-carbon double bonds in preformed poly ethylene and poly(vinyl chloride) films has been shown to be an effect ive and mild way to initiate grafting chemistry. This chemistry presum ably produces carbon-boron intermediates that can, in turn, be used wi th vinyl monomers and oxygen to carry out radical graft polymerization s. Suitable vinyl monomers examined include methyl methacrylate, acryl amide, NN-dimethylacrylamide, acrylic acid, hydroxyethyl methacrylate, isobutyl methacrylate, tert-butyl acrylate, and methacrylonitrile. Th e products of these grafting reactions have been studied gravimetrical ly, by transmission and ATR-IR spectroscopy and by XPS spectroscopy. T hese spectroscopic studies as well as physical and mechanical studies show that this procedure produces a covalently modified substrate poly mer in which bulk grafting and significant modification of the substra te polymer's bulk and surface properties have occurred.