Performances of Chitosan Grafted onto Surface of Polyacrylonitrile Functionalized through Amination Reactions

Abstract

Generally, the acrylic fibers have a low chemical reactivity. Two types of treatments were used in order to increase the chemical reactivity: a pretreatment for functionalization and a treatment for polymer grafting. Each stage permitted the generation of new functional groups whose reactivity was much higher than that of the groups existing in the untreated PAN. The pretreatments were carried out with dihydroxyethyl amine (DHEA) and hydroxylamine (HA) in the presence or absence of NaOH. The functionalized samples were treated with chitosan (CS) in order to produce the grafting. The modifications resulting from the treatments were highlighted by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses, the density of the new functional groups, grafting degree, energy dispersive X-ray (EDAX), yellowness index, color measurements/CIE LAB graphs. The performances referred to hygroscopicity, possibility of dyeing with acid dyestuffs (nonspecific to acrylic fibers), and excellent color...