Graft Copolymerization of Glass Fiber and Its Application

Glass fiber, introduced with unsaturated groups at silanol groups on its surface, was graft co polymerized with styrene and methyl methacrylate by the sealed-tube polymerization method with nitrogen substitution, using benzoyl peroxide (BPO) and cumene hydro peroxide (CHPO) as initiators. The graft co polymerization behavior was investigated. In the case when BPO was used as the initiator, the graft efficiency was extremely low but the graft co polymerization behavior was similar to that of the usual organic polymers. On the other hand, when CHPO was used, both percent grafting and graft efficiency were very high. Further, various properties of composite materials containing grafted glass cloth as a constituent were studied, and it was found that flexural strength, flexural modulus, and interlaminar shear strength increased proportionally to the increase of the percent grafting, and that these values of the composite materials were decreased by only a small extent in the boiling test.