Effect of Gamma Irradiation on the Microhardness of Polymer Blends of Poly (Ethyl Methacrylate)(Pema) and Poly (Ethylene Oxide) (Peo)

The effect of gamma irradiation on micro-hardness of polymer blends of poly (ethyl methacrylate)(PEMA) and poly (ethylene oxide) (PEO) has been investigated to detect the radiation induced crosslinking. The blend system comprises a noncrystallizable polymer, PEMA and a crystallizable polymer, PEO. On irradiation, the overall hardness of the blend specimens for different dose levels infers occurrence of a crosslinking process. The radiation-induced crosslinking was greater for blends having lower concentration of PEO. However, increase in radiation dose causes softening of blend system due to radiation induced scissioning of the chains





References:
[1] Mutsumasa K., Wiwik P.& Akhtar S., Rheological, thermal, and mechanical properties of poly(ethylene naphthalate)/poly(ethylene
terephthalate) blends, J. of Macromole. Sci.; Phy., 1999, 38, 197.
[2] Akira Kaito, Yuko Iwakura, Yongjin Li & Hiroshi Shimizu, Oriented Crystallization of Polyethylene in Compatible Blends with Polyamide, J.
of Macromole. Sci.; Phy.,2008, 47,1062.
[3] Utraki L.A, Polymer blends and alloys for moulding applications, Polym. Plastics Techno. and Engg.,1984, 22,427.
[4] Berko-boateng Victor, Quesnel David J.; Mechanical characterization of
blends of Polystyrene and styrene-Butadiene-Styrene, Polym. Plastics Techno. and Engg; 1983,21, 159.
[5] Katre R, Bajpai R, and Datt S. C, Microhardness of blends of Polystyrene and poly(methylmethacrylate), Polym. Testing,1991, 10,
139.
[6] Awasthi S. K. and Bajpai R., Microhardness and X-ray diffraction studies on polymer blends of poly (ethylmethacrylate)(PEMA) and poly(ethylene oxide)(PEO): Plasticization and crystallization aspects,
Indian J. of Pure and Applied Phy. , 2001, 39, 795.
[7] Awasthi S. K. and Bajpai R., Studies on microhardness, compatibility
and thermal stability of poly (ethylmethacrylate)(PEMA) and
poly(ethylene oxide)(PEO) polyblends; Indian J. Phy., 2003;77A(3),
233.
[8] Sangmook Lee and Jae Wook Lee, Characterization and processing of
Biodegradable polymer blends of poly(lactic acid) with poly(butylenes
succinate adipate), Korea-Australia Rheology Journal; 2005, 17(2),71.
[9] Paul F. McDonald, Luke M. Geever, John G. Lyons and Clement L.
Higginbotham, Physical and Mechanical Properties of Blends Based on
Poly (dl-lactide), Poly (l-lactide-glycolide) and Poly (¤Á-caprolactone),
Polym. Plastics Techno. and Engg, 2010, 49, 678.
[10] Awasthi S. K., Bajpai S. K. and Dubey A., The Effect Of Thermal
Pretreatments On The Mechanical Properties Of The Blend Consisting
Poly (Ethyl Methacrylate) and Poly (Ethylene Oxide), Polym. Plastics
Techno. and Engg, 2012,51,160.
[11] Takayama T, Todo M, Tsuji H, Effect of annealing on the mechanical
properties of PLA/PCL and PLA/PCL/LTI polymer blends, J. of
Mechanical behavior of biomedical materials,2011,4,255.
[12] Leon Silva U., Nicho M.E, Poly(3-octylthiophene) polystyrene blends
thermally treated as coating for corrosion protection of stainless steel
304, J. of Solid State Electrochem.,2010,14,1487.
[13] Chiu-Sheng Ho, E-Ling Huang, Wei-Chou Hsu, Ching-Sung Lee, Ying-
Nan Lai and Wen-Hsuan Lai, Effects of Annealing on Polymer Solar
Cells with High Polythiophene-Fullerene Concentrations, Japanese J. of
Applied Phys., 2011, 50:04DK2,1.
[14] Mishra Shefali, Bajpai R, Katre R., Bajpai A., Preparation
characterization and microhardness study of semi inter penetrating
polymer networks of polyvinyl alcohol and crosslinked polyacryalamide,
J. Mater. Sci. Mater Med ,2006, 23:2
[15] Tiwari A., Gupta A.K., Bajpai R., Keller J. M., Structural and
Mechanical Studies of In - Situ generated Poly(vinylidene fluoride)
particle comprising poly(ethylmethacrylate) and
Poly(methylmethacrylate) ternary films, Polym. Plastics Techno. and
Engg., 2010, 49, 573.
[16] Katre R, Bajpai R, & Datt S. C, Microhardness testing to detect radiation induced crosslinking in Polystyrene: poly(methylmethacrylate)
polyblend, Polym. Testing, 1994, 13, 107.
[17] Agrawal P., Bajpai R. and S. C. Datt, Hardening induced by gamma
irradiation in poly(methyl methacrylate): Poly(chlorotrifluoroethylene)
blends, Polym. Testing, 1996, 15, 291.
[18] Gupta A.K, Bajpai R.and Keller J. M., Effect of irradiation on the
surface microhardness of pure poly(vinyl fluoride), poly(vinylidene
fluoride) and their isomorphic blends, Microsystem Techno.,
2007,13,589.
[19] F. Lednicky, M. Slouf, J. Kratochvíl, J. Baldrian and D. Novotná, Crystalline Character and Microhardness of Gamma Irradiated and Thermally Treated UHMWPE, J. of Macromole. Sci.; Phy., 46, 2007, 521.
[20] Anis Sakinah Z.A., Ratnam C.T., Luqman Chuah A. and Yaw T.C. S,
Performance of Irradiated and Crosslinked Ethylene Vinyl
Acetate/Waste Tire Dust Blend, J. of Elastomers and Plastics 2011 43 (3), 239.
[21] Mervat S., Ibrahim, Sayeda M. Ibrahim and Serag A. Farag, Characterization, Thermal, and Mechanical Behaviours of Gamma
Irradiated Gum Arabic/Poly Vinyl Alcohol Polymer Blends, Polym.
Plastics Techno. and Engg.,2007, 46,1143.
[22] Horia M. Nizam El-Din, Abdel Wahab M. El-Naggar, Effect of ╬│-irradiation on the physical properties and dyeability of poly (vinylbutyral) blends with polystyrene and poly(ethylene glycol), Polym.
Composites,2008, 29, 597.
[23] Joao Carlos Miguez Suarez, Eloisa Biasotto Mano, Claudia Maria
Chagas Bonelli, Effects of gamma-irradiation on mechanical
characteristics of recycled polyethylene blends, Polym. Engg. & Sci.,
1999, 39,1398.
[24] F. Lednicky, M. Slouf, J. Kratochvíl, J. Baldrian and D. Novotna,
Crystalline Character and Microhardness of Gamma Irradiated and
Thermally Treated UHMWPE, J. of Macromole. Sci.; Phy., 46, 2007,
521.
[25] Lihua Zhang, Wende Zhang, Zicheng Zhang, Li Yu, Hongfang Zhang,
Yuchen Qi and Donglin Chen, Radiation effects on crystalline
polymers—I. Gamma-radiation-induced crosslinking and structural characterization of polyethylene oxide, Inter. J. of Rad. Applications and
Instrumentation, Phys. and Chem.,1992,40,501.
[26] Bajpai R, Dhagat N.B., Katare R., Agrawal P.,and Datt S. C.,
Development of hardened PVF : PMMA polyblend: effect of gamma
and electron irradiation, Bull. Mater. Sci., 2003, 26, 401.
[27] Mishra S., Bajpai R., Katare R., Bajpai A. K., Radiation induced
crosslinking effect on semi-interpenetrating polymer networks of
poly(vinyl alcohol), eXPRESS Polymer Letters,2007,1,407.