Method for grafting poly(acrylic acid) onto nylon 6,6 using amine end groups on nylon surface

Several methods have been developed for grafting materials to the surface of polymers to alter their surface characteristics. This article reports a procedure for grafting poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) onto nylon 6,6 films via the naturally occurring amine end groups of nylon 6,6 using IV-hydroxy-succinimide in conjunction with 1-ethyl-3(3-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC) facilitated amidazation. Reaction conditions were investigated with respect to PAA molecular weight, activator concentrations, reaction temperature, and time. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed that surface coverage of more than 50% was consistently achieved for 250 I,,D PAA. The maximum grafting occurred at room temperature with a large excess of EDC with a reaction time of 30 min. The same level of grafting can be achieved using smaller amounts of EDC at 60 degreesC. (C) 2002 John Wiley Sons, Inc.