SURFACE-CHEMISTRY OF POLYETHYLENE GRAFTED WITH HYDROPHILIC MONOMERS -XPS AND TOF-SIMS STUDIES

Polyethylene (PE) powders were grafted by acrylic acid or maleic anhyd ride/styrene monomers. The elemental surface composition was determine d by means of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Time-of-flight s econdary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) investigations were carried out to obtain information about the molecular build-up of the grafted polymers. XPS measurements showed the presence of oxygen-containing fu nctional groups on the PE particle surface. The ToF-SIMS spectra gave evidence for polymer chains with alternating maleic anhydride and styr ene units. In addition, fragments of polystyrene block segments were f ound.