Restructuring of polytetrafluoroethylene films during crazing in liquid media as an effective sorption method

Abstract

The ability of polytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon) films stretched in liquid styrene, toluene, and other organic liquids at room temperature to absorb these liquids is studied. It is found that, when stretched to 200% in air and liquids, the volume of the polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) film increases by 40%, whereas the amount of liquid sorbed reaches 34 vol %. Stretched PTFE–polystyrene nanocomposites were prepared by in situ thermal polymerization of styrene sorbed into a PTFE film during stretching in a styrene–toluene–initiator solution.