ESR study of free radicals formed by γ-irradiation of poly(ethylene terephthalate)

Surface Modification of Polyester-Fabric with Hydrogels and Silver Nanoparticles: Photochemical Versus Gamma Irradiation Methods

A Gamma irradiation and photochemical crosslinking/grafting of poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PHEMA) and poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate-co-poly(ethylene glycol) methacrylate) (poly(HEMA-co-PEGMA)) hydrogels onto polyethyleneterephtalate fabric (PET) surfaces were evaluated, in order to obtain a hydrophilic homogeneous coating onto PET fabrics. The materials were characterized by FTIR-ATR, SEM, EDS, and thermal analysis. Furthermore, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were loaded by in situ reduction of AgNO₃, and its antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli was determined. Results showed a ticker coating of hydrogel using gamma radiation and stronger in deep modification of the fibers; however, by the photochemical method, a thin coating with good coverage of PET surface was obtained. The differences in hydrophilicity, thermal properties, and antibacterial activity of the coated fabrics by using both methods were rather small.

Selective Hg(II) adsorption from aqueous solutions of Hg(II) and Pb(II) by hydrolyzed acrylamide-grafted PET films

Selective Hg(II) adsorption from aqueous solutions of Hg(II) and Pb(II) using hydrolyzed acrylamide (AAm)-grafted polyethylene terephthalate (PET) films was examined to explore the potential reuse of waste PET materials. Selective recovery of Hg(II) from a mixture of soft acids with similar structure, such as Hg(II) and Pb(II), is important to allow the reuse of recovered Hg(II). An adsorbent for selective Hg(II) adsorption was prepared by γ-ray-induced grafting of AAm onto PET films followed by partial hydrolysis through KOH treatment. The adsorption capacity of the AAm-grafted PET films for Hg(II) ions increased from 15 to 70 mg/g after partial hydrolysis because of the reduction of hydrogen bonding between -CONH2 groups and the corresponding improved access of metal ions to the amide groups. The prepared adsorbent was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The absorbent film showed high selectivity for the adsorption of Hg(II) over Pb(II) throughout the entire initial metal concentration range (100-500 mg/L) and pH range (2.2-5.6) studied. The high selectivity is attributed to the ability of Hg(II) ions to form covalent bonds with the amide groups. The calculated selectivity coefficient for the adsorbent binding Hg(II) over Pb(II) was 19.2 at pH 4.5 with an initial metal concentration of 100 mg/L. Selective Hg(II) adsorption equilibrium data followed the Langmuir model and kinetic data were well fitted by a pseudo-second-order equation. The adsorbed Hg(II) and Pb(II) ions were effectively desorbed from the adsorbent film by acid treatment, and the regenerated film showed no marked loss of adsorption capacity upon reuse for selective Hg(II) adsorption.

Multiple gamma radiation sterilization of polyester fibres

Gamma radiation with a dose of 2.5 Mrad has been found to be suitable to sterilize polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bulk materials intended for biomedical applications. The radiation stability of PET bulk materials and fibre may not however be taken as identical due to the changes in the polymer structure during the processing of bulk materials for fibre. The chemical changes occurring in PET fibres during single and multiple (prolonged) sterilization in air were investigated. It was found that single sterilization (2.5 Mrad) itself affected the PET yarn and fibre. This was exhibited by the increase of crystallinity from 30.5 to 37% in the case of yarn and from 40 to 44% in the case of fibre. The breaking load of the yarn also increased from 441 g to 451 g. These changes were attributed to the degradation of PET in the amorphous region and the recombination of degraded aliphatic segments. Sterilization at higher doses affected the crystalline region which decreased the crystallinity, breaking load and molecular weight. For samples irradiated at 2.5 Mrad, the breaking load increased, though the dispersity increased. This was attributed to cross-linking by recombination. The increase in crystallinity also enhanced the breaking load of the samples. Higher doses of sterilization led to drastic microstructural and macrostructural changes as seen from the molecular weight. It was inferred that the changes in crystallinity and microstructure that occurred during multiple sterilization might affect the biocompatibility of the material.