ELECTROSTATIC PROPERTIES OF UV-IRRADIATED AND SURFACE-GRAFTED POLYMERS

A polystyrene film, a poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) film, and PET fabrics were UV‐irradiated or surface‐grafted with various hydrophilic monomers. Their electrostatic properties were studied by measuring the triboelectric charges generated upon mechanical rubbing of these materials and by following the decay of the charges generated upon exposing the polymeric materials to a high electric field. The UV‐irradiated polymers carried lower electrostatic charges than those unirradiated after their surfaces were rubbed with a cotton fabrics under the same conditions. The generation of triboelectric charge depends on both the surface hydrophilicity and the past history of the specimens. Although hydrophilic groups introduced on the polymer surface by UV exposure exhibited little effect on decaying of the electrostatic charge, polymeric materials grafted with a large amount of water‐soluble polymers, especially with ionic polymers, showed lower triboelectric generation and faster decay of the static charge. Copyright © 1990 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.