Study of modified polypropylene nonwoven cloth. I. graft copolymerization of 4‐vinylpyridine onto polypropylene nonwoven cloth by preirradiation method

Polypropylene (PP) nonwoven cloth was grafted with 4-vinylpyridine (4-VP) by a preirradiation method. The effects of preirradiation conditions on the mechanical properties of preirradiated PP nonwoven cloth and the percentage of grafting (Pg) of 4-VP onto the preirradiated PP nonwoven cloth were systematically investigated. The results indicated that the mechanical properties of preirradiated PP nonwoven cloth decreased with increasing irradiation dose and that the Pg was greatly affected by the concentration of monomer, irradiation dose, grafting reaction temperature, and the addition of inhibitor and inorganic acid in the grafting reaction system. The grafted nonwoven cloth samples were characterized using IR spectroscopy and SEM. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 77: 1861–1868, 2000