Grafting of different monomers onto jute yarn by in situ UV-radiation method: Effect of additives

Jute yarn was improved through in situ grafting under UV radiation technique using three different types of bulk monomers [methyl methacrylate (MMA), butyl acrylate (BA), and styrene (ST)]. For almost all cases, bulk monomer was mixed with methanol to swell the cellulose backbone of jute for better impregnation of monomer solution. The effects of variation in irradiation time, monomer concentration, and additives on the extent of grafting were studied. Various physico-mechanical properties like grafting water uptake, tensile strength, elongation at break for both treated and untreated jute yams were performed. The properties of the treated jute yam with different monomers were also compared. The highest polymer loading was found for the monomer BA but MMA showed better tensile properties amongst the monomers investigated. Five types of additives (1%) of different chemical nature, such as 2-hydroxyethylmethacrylate, ethylhexylacrylate, acrylamide, N-vinylpyrrolidine, and urea (U) were added into the bulk monomer solution to study the effects on grafting and mechanical properties of jute yarn. Among all additives, only U showed better properties in MMA + MeOH system. Water uptake of the treated and untreated samples was also performed and BA-grafted samples showed lower water uptake to that of virgin as well as other treated samples.