The effects of ultraviolet light on the graft copolymerization of acrylamide (AM) onto silk were studied and the following results were obtained.
a) Benzophenone as a sensitizer of the ultraviolet light is very effective for the graft copolymerization of AM onto silk, and the higher the pH value of AM solution is, the greate the rate of graft copolymerization becomes.
b) The average molecular weight of the Block and or graft polymerized PAM increases with the rising degree of copolymerization, but decreases with prolonging the irradiation time.
c) The tensile strength, elongation and stiffness decrease with the rising degree of copolymerization because of the photochemical decompositions of silk fiber by the ultraviolet light.