Grafting Vinyl Monomers onto Nylon 6 Fiber. III. Graft Copolymerization of Vinyl Monomers onto Nylon 6 Fiber in Water Medium in the Presence of Fructose

Nylon 6 fiber was grafted with various vinyl monomers e.g., methyl methacrylate (MMA), ethyl methacrylate (EMA), and n-butyl methacrylate (n-BMA), in water in the presence of fructose using a carbon arc lamp as the source of photoirradiation at 70°C and a liquor ratio of 1:26. The effects of various parameters, e.g., monomer concentration, time of grafting, and fructose concentration on grafting reactions, were studied individually for each monomer. The graft yield is greatly enhanced by increasing the monomer concentration and the time of grafting. However, the optimum fructose concentration is required for maximum grafting efficiency. The accelerating action of photopolymerization by fructose was attributed to the sensitizing action of fructose involving an energy transfer.