Effects of Solvents on Kinetic of Degenerative Transfer Graft Polymerization Initiated by Plasma

Polypropylene (PP) film was modified by plasma initiated degenerative transfer (DT) graft polymerization with acrylic acid (AA) as monomer and iodoform as DT agent. Effects of both water and N, N-dimethylformamide (DMF) on the kinetic of plasma initiated polymerization and its DT polymerization were investigated. Results showed that the plasma initiated DT polymerization performed following a controlled living mechanism. DMF was indicated an appropriate solvent for controlling molecular weight and PDI relative to water in the plasma initiated DT polymerization. Less solvent effect was shown in the polymerization after introducing iodoform. For modified surfaces, graft amounts would proportionally increase with conversion, and was confirmed by results of FT-IR and contact angle.