Abstract

Graft Copolymerization Of Methyl Acrylate Onto PET Initiated By Potassium Diperiodatonickelate (IV)

Author(s): Yinghai Liu, Shengxian Li, Yuling Zhao, Jianping Zhang, Weiqi Zhou, Rongyue Zhang, Kuilin Deng

A novel system, potassium diperiodatonickelate(IV) (DPN)−poly (ethylene terephthalate) (PET), was employed to initiate the graft copolymerization of methyl acrylate (MA) onto PET in alkali medium. The effects of reaction conditions, such as initiator concentration, ratio of MA to PET, temperature and time, were investigated. Graft copolymers with high grafting parameters were obtained (E%>80%), indicating that DPN-PET system is an efficient initiator for the graft copolymerization. The structures and the thermal stability of PET and PET−g−PMA were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), infrared spectroscopy (IR) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). A mechanism is proposed to explain the generation of radicals and the initiation of graft copolymerzation. The SEM photographs show that the graft copolymer greatly improved the compatibility of the PET /PMMA blends. The moisture regain (MR) of PET−g−PMA is found to increase compare with PET.