Synthesis, characterization, and application of amylopectin‐graft‐poly(AM‐co‐AMPS)

Abstract

AbstractA series of graft copolymers poly(acrylamide‐co‐2‐acrylamido‐2‐methylpropanesulfonic acid) [Ap‐g‐p(AM‐co‐AMPS)] have been synthesized by graft copolymerization of amylopectin (Ap) with acrylamide (AM) and 2‐acrylamido‐2‐methylpropanesulfonic acid (AMPS). The copolymerization has been carried out by solution polymerization technique and using ceric ammonium nitrate (CAN) as initiator. The characterization of graft copolymer has been carried out by elemental analysis fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The effects of reaction conditions on graft copolymerization and the use of the copolymer as flocculating agent in kaolin suspension have been investigated. Experiments have shown that graft copolymer with higher grafting level, higher intrinsic viscosity, and higher anionic degree can be obtained by changing the method of addition of monomers and by controlling the ratio of AMPS and AM. The flocculation performances have been investigated through jar test method, and it has been observed that the graft copolymer with molar ratio of 2 : 1 of AM and AMPS shows best performance in flocculating kaolin suspension. Metal ion sorption study with Cu2+ has shown that the graft copolymer absorbs Cu2+ efficiently. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012