Graft Copolymerization of Acrylamide and Methylmethacrylate onto Cellulose Fibres: Influence of Initiator in Gel Formation

Abstract

Acrylamide and methylmethacrylate monomers were grafted onto bleached cellulosic fibres using K2S2O8 and a redox system of K2S2O8-Na2S2O5 as initiators at room temperature while varying time, monomer concentration and concentration of initiator. The study have shown that percentage grafting increases as the concentration of monomers, concentration of initiators and graft time were increased. The study also confirms the selectivity of initiators for monomers. For example, using K2S2O8 as initiator, acrylamide attained a maximum percentage graft of 42.4% at 7.4×10G2 mol dmG3 initiator concentration; further increase in initiator concentration lead to the formation of a gel. On the other hand, the maximum percent graft for methylmethacrylate using the same initiator was 29.8% at initiator concentration of 14.8×10G2 mol dmG3 . Similarly, using a redox system of K2S2O8-Na2S2O5, acrylamide attained a maximum percentage graft of 23.7% at the maximum concentration of initiator tested while methylmethacrylate attained a maximum percentage graft of 70.2% at the same initiator concentration.