Abstract
Graft polymerization of N-vinylcaprolactam (VCL) onto the surface of a polylactic acid (PLA) film was performed using a versatile and nondestructive technique. The method used consists of two steps. In the first step, a surface initiator is formed on a substrate under UV irradiation in the presence of a benzophenone (BP) solution, which promotes photoinitiation under UV irradiation at room temperature and under nitrogen. In the second step, the monomer (VCL) is grafted onto the substrate (PLA) by a living polymerization initiated by the surface photoinitiator. The hydrophobic polylactic acid film (PLA) became hydrophilic after grafting; the contact angle of the modified surface decreased drastically from the original value of 77° to <58° within 50 s of irradiation. The surface photografting parameters [polymerization rate (C p), grafting percentage (C g), and grafting efficiency (E g)] were derived using a gravimetric method in which the grafting yield could be controlled by varying the irradiation time or the monomer concentration. The first-derivative UV spectrum recorded between 200 and 360 nm was used as a sensitive tool to follow the grafting process at different times; the signals from VCL at 265 and 310 nm increased in size as the irradiation time increased due to the increase in VCL polymer units during the grafting process. FTIR-ATR analysis exhibited a clearly defined absorption band at 1,620–1,640 cm−1, corresponding to C=O stretching vibrations in the amide groups of unstrained rings in poly(N-vinylcaprolactam) (PNVCL). These analytical techniques confirmed the successful surface graft polymerization of VCL onto the polylactic acid film.
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The authors express their gratitude to CONACYT for their financial support of this project (S53075Y).
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Gutiérrez-Villarreal, M.H., Guzmán-Moreno, J.G. Surface graft polymerization of N-vinylcaprolactam onto polylactic acid film by UV irradiation. J Polym Res 20, 149 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10965-013-0149-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10965-013-0149-x