Grafting of Cellulose with Water-Soluble Monomers by the Xanthate Process

Abstract

Cellulose was grafted with several water-soluble monomers including 2-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate, 3-dimethylaminopropyl methacrylamide, and 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropyl sulfonic acid. Cellulose xanthate-Fe²-H₂O₃ redox system was used to initiate the polymerizations. The formation of graft copolymer was investigated as a function of substrate pretreatment, initial pH, and reaction temperature. Although stable graft copolymer was formed in all cases, the grafting efficiency was quite low, ranging from 10 to 30%. The best results were obtained with binary monomer mixtures composed of an acid and a base.