Manufacture and characterization of some wettable acrylic polymers

Poly(acrylonitrile) [P(AN)] is frequently preferred in the textile sector due to its qualities such as being affordable, having the properties of natural wool, chemical resistance, compatibility with polar substances and low gas permeability. However, poor properties such as brittleness and difficulty in melt processing of P(AN) polymers, hydrophobic properties, weak electrostatic interactions between fibers and effective attraction forces between fiber molecules, poor wettability, low color retention associated with wettability, and color change upon long-term exposure to UV light need to be improved. The properties of acrylic fibers are improved by adding 5-15% comonomer. In this study, acrylonitrile was copolymerized with vinyl acetate monomer, which has higher hydrophilicity than acrylonitrile, at a certain ratio and reduced with H2 gas using Pt catalyst. The structural characteristics, molecular weight and distribution, thermal resistance, particle size, contact angles and surface free energies, and mechanical properties of the produced copolymers were investigated by comparing them with the P(AN) polymer. It was found that wettability increased in the presence of hydrophilic groups in the synthesized and reduced copolymers. No significant change was detected in the indentation method used to determine the mechanical properties of the polymers coated in the rotary evaporator device. It has been determined that polymers produced by thermal gravimetric methods have high thermal resistance. As a result of the study, it was shown that acrylic fiber with improved wettability properties could be produced in the presence of hydrophilic groups of P(AN) polymer.