Modification of some properties of polyamide-6 by electron beam induced grafting

Electron irradiation, applied on its own or in combination with other physi cal and chemical treatments, can result in radiation damage to materials. O ne category of such pursuits is electron beam radiation processing technolo gies, the intent being to produce favourable modification of materials. Stu dy has been made herein of the use of accelerator-generated electron beams for the induced grafting of acrylic and methacrylic acids and acrylamide on to polyamide-6, the latter being popularly used in the textiles industry. S amples of polyamide-6, in the form of rectangular sheets of dimension, 10 c m x 10 cm or granules, have been irradiated using a 3 GHz travelling wave e lectron accelerator of energy 6.5 MeV. Results show that the degree of graf ting is dependent upon radiation dose and extent of monomers dilution, Modi fications have been observed in the melting temperature of the crystalline phase, glass transition temperature, mechanical parameters and the reticula tion of polyamide. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.