Abstract
Graft polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) onto linen fiber and cloth in the absence of initiators was investigated.
It was observed that the weight increase of linen, yield of total polymer and graft efficiency depend upon the kinds and concentrations of emulsifiers and temperature of polymerization. Nonionic surfactant (such as Neugen YX-500) as an emulsifier is more effective than ionic ones. When Neugen YX-500 is used as an emulsifier, the graft polymerization proceeds smoothly onto linen and the yield of total polymer increases with the increase of concentration, but the weight increase of linen has a maximum at 1.0g/100ml. On the other hand, in the case of anionic surfactant such as sodium lauryl sulfate both weight increase and g_??_aft efficienby are lower than that in the case of nonionic ones.
When the powdered grafted linen fiber was reextracted with acetone, the existence of homopolymer in linen fiber was indicated by the reextracted PMMA which was from 15 to 30% of PMMA contained in the powdered grafted linen fiber. The viscometric molecular weight of PMMA isolated from backbone cellulose by hydrolysis was in the order of 106.
Physical properties of grafted linen vary with increase of grafting. Flex fatigue showed a noticeable decrease, water absorption, tensil and knot tenacity showed a considerble decrease.
