Investigation on hydrophobic modification of bamboo flour surface by means of atom transfer radical polymerization method

Abstract

To convert the hydrophilic surface of bamboo flour into a hydrophobic surface, methyl methacrylate (MMA) was grafted onto bamboo flour surface by means of atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) method. The grafted bamboo flour was characterized by using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), water contact angle and thermogravimetric analysis. The results from FTIR and SEM have confirmed that MMA groups have been successfully grafted onto bamboo surface by means of the ATRP method, which caused the water contact angle increase to be 128.7°, i.e., hydrophilic bamboo flour turned into hydrophobicity. However, the thermal stability of grafted bamboo flour decreased compared with pure bamboo flour.