Synthesis and Characterization of Cation-Exchange Fibers with Radiation-Induced Grafting of Glycidyl Methacrylate onto Cotton Cellulose

Abstract

Conventional ion exchange beads are used for purification and demineralization of water and for various other applications in the chemical synthesis, hydrometallurgy, and agricultural industries. However, there are some disadvantages associated with ion exchange beads, such as distillation causing porosity during solvent removal, pre-swelling of beads to allow for core functionalization, and pre-swelling of beads overnight prior to end use. Fibrous ion exchange materials have advantages over the conventional ion exchange beads, including simplification of the overall preparation. In this study, a cation-exchange fiber was prepared by a radiation-induced grafting method. Glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) was grafted onto cotton cellulose using a pre-irradiation method by electronbeam irradiation. Sequential treatment with sulfonic acid was performed to react with the cation pollutants. The degree of grafting increased up to 812% with the increase of absorbed dose, reaction time and monomer concentration. It was found that the sulfonation reaction occurred smoothly with 10% sodium sulfite solution, and a high 2.0 meq/g ion exchange capacity was obtained from 140% GMA-grafted non-woven cotton fabric.