CO2-PULSED LASER-INDUCED SURFACE GRAFTING OF ACRYLAMIDE ONTO ETHYLENE-PROPYLENE RUBBER (EPR) .2.

A line tunable CO2 - pulsed laser (TEA CO2 laser Lumonics - 103-2) which operates at 9.1 - 10.6 mum has been employed to induce grafting of acrylamide(AAm) onto the surface of EPR in the presence of Benzophenone (BP) and azobisisobutyronitrile(AZBN) as sensitizer. Characterization has been carried out using ATR-IR(FT), EDXA , and SEM. Grafting of AAm occures providing the system is excited by pulses with the wavelength corresponding to the absorption maxima of the sensitizer. Fractal type of moprphology is formed by the grafted polyAAm. Both graft yield and size of fractals are dependent upon the exciting wavelength and laser pulsing frequency Results reveal that co-polymerization of AAm occures by vibrational excitation of AAm or the used photosensitizer via multiphoton absorption mechanism.