STUDIES ON THE GRAFT-COPOLYMERIZATION OF ACRYLONITRILE ONTO SODIUM ALGINATE

Graft copolymerization of poly(acrylonitrile) onto sodium alginate was carried out in aqueous medium using potassium persulphate as an initi ator. The effects of pH, time, monomer concentration, initiator concen tration, temperature, and backbone concentration were investigated. Pe rcent grafting and grafting efficiency were evaluated. Isolation of gr aft copolymer from unreacted sodium alginate was carried out using the selective solvent extraction technique. FTIR and thermogravimetric an alysis for poly(acrylonitrile), sodium alginate, and sodium alginate-g raft-poly(acrylonitrile) were studied to establish the occurrence of g rafting. A probable mechanism for grafting is proposed.