Radiation graft modification of ethylene-propylene rubber. Pt. 2. Effect of additives

The effect of multifunctional acrylic additives including TMPTA, PEGDA and PGTA on the radiation grafting of hydrophilic vinyl monomers onto ethylene-propylene elastomer (EPM rubbers) was studied. This work centres upon gamma irradiation-induced grafting of acrylamide (AAm), N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone (NVP), 2-hydroethyl methacrylate (HEMA) and acrylonitrile (AN) onto EPM rubber by the simultaneous method. Water proved to be an effective solvent but methanol lowered grafting. Sulphuric acid was detrimental to both homopolymerisation and grafting, a result consistent with the theory proposed for the role of this additive in polymer grafting systems. (author)