Designing surface and interface of polymeric materials: electron beam a powerful tool

Radiation technology based on gamma and electron beam (EB) radiation has become popular for couple of decades in the field of polymer science and technology. The gamma is used mainly for grafting of some specific functional groups and electron beam (EB) for cross-linking and curing of polymer. Because of some advantages, electron beam is being preferred by industries. We have used EB for designing interface and surface of polymeric materials through covalent integration of various functional groups on the surface of polymers. Through electron beam assisted surface designing we have developed some products, namely cotton based super-absorbent for oil-water separation, recycled super-hydrophobic scrap polyurethane (PU) sponge and breathable water repellent cotton fabric. These are achieved by fine tuning of surface energy and tiny scale roughness. On the other hand, by covalent attachment of some functional groups by electron beam, the interfaces of multicomponent polymeric systems have been engineered to render enhanced dispersion and strong interface. For examples, LDPE (low density polyethylene)/clay nanocomposites with dramatic improvement of clay dispersion and mechanical properties, Engage/silicone organic-inorganic hybrid material with improved thermal aging properties, LLDPE (lower low density polyethylene)/flax fiber composites with improved mechanical properties etc. Electron beam (EB) has shown unique potential for designing surface and interface of polymeric systems to achieve desired properties. From these observations we think, electron beam technology is a great future for polymer industry, which is not limited to cross-linking based products only. (author)