Graft Copolymerization of Methyl Methacrylate onto Chitosan Initiated by Potassium Ditelluratocuprate(III)

Abstract

A novel redox system, potassium ditelluratocuprate(III) (DTC)–chitosan, was employed to initiate the graft copolymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) onto chitosan in alkali medium. The effects of reaction variables, such as the initiator concentration, ratio of monomer to chitosan, the pH value, as well as reaction temperature and time were investigated, and the grafting conditions were optimized. Graft copolymers with both high grafting efficiency (>90%) and percentage of grafting were obtained, and the rate of polymerization is higher, which indicated that the DTC–chitosan redox system is an efficient initiator for this graft copolymerization. The structures and the thermal property of chitosan and chitosan–g–PMMA were characterized by infrared spectroscopy (IR), X‐ray diffraction and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). A mechanism is proposed to explain the generation of radicals and the initiation. The graft copolymer was used as the compatibilizer in blends of terpolyamide and chitosan. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) photographs indicated that the graft copolymer improved the compatibility of the blend.