• Journal of Sericultural and Entomological Science
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.47-50
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• 1985

The physical properties of graft polymerized silk fibre were investigated with various vinyl monomers. 1. The graft polymerization of styrene and methyl methacrylate onto raw silk reduced the tenacity and elongation of raw silk due to fixation of sericin covering silk fibre in, but the styrene grafting was more effective for sericin fixation of raw silk than the methyl methacrylate one. 2. The water absorbability of glycidyl methacrylate grafted silk increased 14.6% greater than that of methyl methacrylate grafted silk at the same degree of grafting polymerization. 3. The degree of grafting polymerization was increased mostly with ethylene glycol methacrylate. The water absorbability of ethylene glycol methacrylate grafted silk was higher than that of glycidyl methacrylate or ethyl acrylate grafted silk. But the grafted silk fabric increased the fabric flexural rigidity which was negatively related with the favorability of fabric hand-touch, as compared with that of nongrafted silk fabric. 4. The evenness of graft polymerization could be improved by agitating the polymerization bath at the fixed interval by reducing the inter size deviation of grafted silk skein and the thickness deviation of grafted silk fabric.