The surface properties of ionomers based on styrene-co-acrylic acid copolymers

The surface properties of styrene-co-acrylic acid copolymers and of the obtained ionomers containing alkali metal ions, before and after LTV-irradiation, were investigated by the measurements of water contact angles and ATR-FTIR spectroscopy. It was examined, how the content and nature of the alkali metal introduced into the initial copolymer influences the water contact angle, surface free energy and its components, polar and dispersive. It was ascertained that the water contact angle, surface free energy and its components depend on the content of introduced acid or salt. These values were practically independent of the nature of the alkali metal introduced into the copolymer. However, more considerable changes were observed for the ionomers containing sodium ions. The research has indicated that UV-irradiation causes the increase in surface hydrophilicity of the investigated ionomers. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.