Surface modification and dyeing of ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene fabrics using diazirine-based polymers
| dc.contributor.author | Nazir, Rashid | |
| dc.contributor.author | Musolino, Stefania F. | |
| dc.contributor.author | MacFarlane, Madisen A. | |
| dc.contributor.author | Wulff, Jeremy E. | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2026-02-06T23:40:14Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2026-02-06T23:40:14Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2024 | |
| dc.description.abstract | Ultra-high-molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) fibers are valued for their high strength-to-weight ratio and are employed in a wide variety of commercial applications. However, because of its low surface energy, UHMWPE can fail in certain applications, such as fiber-reinforced composites. This is due to its poor interfacial adhesion with polar matrices, making it challenging to incorporate into composites and/or retain polar dyes or colorants. Herein, we describe the use of polyamine primers for coating UHMWPE weaves, covalently bonding the aliphatic chains through C−H insertion, leading to strong covalent interactions between fabric and polyamines. We further demonstrate that the polyamine-coated UHMWPE surfaces can successfully react with epoxy resin through nucleophilic addition reactions to enable the production of epoxy composites. Furthermore, we show the use of polyamine-coated UHMWPE in secondary functionalization with amine-reactive compounds, such as dyes, through covalent linkages that result in very strong color fastness. | |
| dc.description.reviewstatus | Reviewed | |
| dc.description.scholarlevel | Faculty | |
| dc.description.sponsorship | The authors gratefully acknowledge funding from Innovate BC (grant 184-RND8-2019). R.N. and S.F.M. additionally thank Mitacs Canada (grants IT11982 and IT17318) for fellowships, and XLYNX Materials for operating funds that were used to support this research. The authors thank the staff at the Advanced Microscopy Facility at the University of Victoria for assistance with the SEM measurements, and Dr. Eric Ye at the Simon Fraser University NMR Facility for collecting the solid state 19F NMR data. We also thank Prof. Alexandre Brolo for co-supervision of R.N., and for operational assistance during the completion of this project. | |
| dc.identifier.citation | R. Nazir, S. F. Musolino, M. A. MacFarlane & J. E. Wulff (2024) Surface Modification and Dyeing of Ultra-high-molecular-weight Polyethylene Fabrics using Diazirine-Based Polymers. ACS Applied Polymer Materials, 6, 1688–1697. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acsapm.3c02531 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/1828/23174 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.publisher | ACS Applied Polymer Materials | |
| dc.rights | Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International | en |
| dc.rights.uri | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ | |
| dc.subject | UHMWPE | |
| dc.subject | diazirines | |
| dc.subject | crosslinking | |
| dc.subject | primers | |
| dc.subject | dyes | |
| dc.subject | Centre for Advanced Materials and Related Technology (CAMTEC) | |
| dc.subject.department | Department of Chemistry | |
| dc.title | Surface modification and dyeing of ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene fabrics using diazirine-based polymers | |
| dc.type | Article |