Graft copolymerization of vinyl monomers on modified cottons. III. Grafting of acrylonitrile and methyl methacrylate on cyanoethylated cotton by the ceric ion method

Abstract

AbstractThe interaction of acrylonitrile and methyl methacrylate with cyanoethylated cotton in the presence of ceric ion has been studied under a variety of conditions. Increasing the reaction time, the monomer concentration, and the temperature favorably influences the degree of grafting. The same holds true for initiator concentration up to a certain limit, after which a decrease in the graft yield was obtained. On the other hand, ceric consumption during grafting and oxidation increases by increasing the magnitudes of all these factors. However, the consumption during grafting is always higher than that during oxidation. The graft yields obtained with cyanoethylated cotton are greater than those of the control, being increased by increasing the degree of substitution (D.S.) of the cyanoethylated cotton, suggesting that the cyanoethyl groups afford additional sites of grafting. On the other hand, the ceric consumption during oxidation of cyano‐ethylated cotton was much lower than that of the control, being increased also by increasing the D.S., indicating perhaps that ceric ion attacks the cyanoethylated cotton exclusively at the cyanoethyl groups. Based on these findings, a scheme for the mechanism of reaction of a vinyl monomer with cyanoethylated cotton was proposed.