A new approach of synthesis and morphological control of poly(ethylene terephthalate)-g-polyacrylonitrile composite film with a porous surface

Poly(ethylene terephthalate)-g-polyacrylonitrile (PET-g-PAN) composite film with a porous surface was fabricated via gamma-ray-radiation-induced graft polymerization on PET film in an aqueous solution system. The original PET film was first irradiated by gamma ray in the aqueous solution of acrylic acid. Next, the graft polymerization of acrylonitrile (AN) was induced by gamma ray on the surface of the above modified PET film in an aqueous solution of AN. The prepared PET-g-PAN composite film has a smaller static water contact angle than the original PET film. The SEM and AFM images show that the grafted PAN layer on the surface of PET-g-PAN composite film is composed of closely-arranged spherical PAN microspheres with an average diameter of 30 nm. The gaps between the PAN microspheres form fine pores (less than 30 nm) on the surface. The gas barrier property of the PET-g-PAN composite film is much better than that of the original PET film. This work provides a facile and green method to prepare PET-g-PAN composite film with a controllable porous surface morphology by taking advantage of the radiation-induced graft polymerization technique in an aqueous solution system.