AN OVERVIEW OF THE RADIATION PRETREATMENT ON JUTE FIBER PHOTOCURED /PHOTOGRAFTED WITH ACRYLIC MONOMERS

摘要

Physico-mechanical properties of jute fibers have been modified to maintain their inherent degradable nature by curing and grafting using different types of monomers such Acrylamide (AM) and 3-(trimethoxysilyl) propylmethacrylate (silane) under UV radiation. In both photo-grafting and photo-curing methods, irradiation time, concentration of monomer and soaking time were optimized with respect to polymer loading (PL) and mechanical properties, such as tensile strength (TS) and elongation-at-break (Eb) of the treated fibers. Solutions of different monomer concentrations in methanol along with photoinitiator were prepared for insitu photo-grafting technique. 30%AM treated jute yarn attained enhanced TS (95%) and Eb (156%) with 22% PL at 60 minutes irradiation. On the other hand 30% silane treated jute yarn attained increased TS by 159% and Eb by 237% with polymer 26% PL at 30 minutes irradiation time. The ESEM and FTIR spectroscopic analysis corroborate the presence of AM and silane which may be deposited or reacted with cellulose backbone of jute yarn. The XPS studies of silane treated jute surface indicate the presence of silane deposited on the surface of jute yarn. Jute yarns were pretreated using UV and gamma radiation of different intensities and has grafted/cured with different monomers at optimized condition. These treatments demonstrated that UV pretreated silane grafted sample showed better enhancement of tensile properties than those of the others grafted jute samples. The effect of pretreatment with ionized radiation (gamma radiation) on the properties of both photocured/photografted fibers was also monitored. Water uptake and degradation properties in different conditions such as simulating weathering and soil degradation test of untreated and treated samples were studied.