Radiation‐Induced Graft Copolymerization of Styrene into Tetrafluoroethylene‐Hexafluoropropylene‐Vinylidene Fluoride (THV) Terpolymer Films

Abstract

The objective of this work was to investigate the influence of irradiation conditions on grafting of styrene into tetrafluoroethylene‐hexafluoropropylene‐vinylidene fluoride (THV) terpolymer films. Stress–strain measurements, infrared spectroscopy and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy have been used to characterize the pre‐irradiated polymer films regarding tensile strength, elongation at break, changes in the chemical structure and concentration of trapped radicals, respectively. Main‐chain scissions associated with the formation of carbonyl end groups and end‐chain double bond structures have been identified to be the reason for a moderate deterioration of the mechanical properties of the pre‐irradiated films. The yield of grafting has been found to be influenced by THV grade, irradiation temperature and concentration of cross‐linker. magnified image

Radiation-Grafted Membranes for Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells: Current Trends and Future Directions

“…The preparation of PEM is carried out in two steps: (i) grafting and (ii) sulfonation. The grafting step is carried out using a pure St monomer or a bulk St solution often diluted with solvents such as benzene, toluene, dichloromethane, methanol, or propanol under controlled parameters to obtain desired DG with a homogeneous graft distribution. The type of solvent and monomer/solvent composition was found to control the kinetics of the grafting reaction.…”