Radiation induced crosslinking effect on semi- interpenetrating polymer networks of poly(vinyl alcohol)

Semi-IPNs with varying contents of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), poly acrylamide (PAM) and crosslinker N,N’methylene bis acrylamide (MBA) were prepared by redox polymerization method. The structural and morphological properties were studied by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) methods, respectively. It was found that the surface of the hydrogel is heterogeneous with separated domains. XRD result shows the semi-crystalline nature of the semi-IPNs. The prepared semi-IPNs of different compositions were subjected to gamma irradiation (2 to 250 kGy) and the radiation induced effects on their strength of the semi-IPNs were studied by measuring the surface microhardness using a Vickers microhardness tester. Significant changes were observed in the Vickers microhardness, which were correlated with molecular architecture of the prepared