Photograft Copolymerization of Methyl Methacrylate, Acrylonitrile, and Acrylamide on Oxycellulose Using Potassium Persulfate as the Initiator in Limited Aqueous Systems

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Abstract
Graft copolymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA), acrylonitrile (AN), and acrylamide (AA) on cellulose of low degrees of oxidation (effected through periodate treatment) was studied under photoactivation with visible light in limited aqueous systems. The degree of oxidation of the cellulose sample given in terms of copper number was between 0.25 (for the native cellulose) and 46. Increasing degree of oxidation initially produced higher overall % conversion or rate of polymerization. Overall grafting effects, i.e., % grafting and grafting efficiency, were also generally higher in oxycellulose than in unmodified cellulose. Effects of variations of time of polymerization, initiator content, and monomer content on overall grafting were also studied, and related data for the three monomer systems have been presented and compared. Percent grafting as high as 300–500% and grafting efficiency of the order of 80–95% were easily obtained.