Graft copolymerization of methyl methacrylate onto bamboo cellulose under microwave irradiation

Grafting of methyl methacrylate (MMA) onto bamboo cellulose using ceric ammonium nitrate (CAN) as an initiator was carried out under microwave irradiation. The graft copolymers were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The effects of varying the microwave power, exposure time and concentration of initiator of graft polymerization were studied by determining the grafting parameters, such as grafting percentage and grafting efficiency. The experimental results showed that the optimal conditions for grafting were: [CAN] = 0.004 mol/L, which was acidified with 0.1 mol/L nitric acid; exposure time, 9 min; and the microwave power, 160 W. Moreover, the moisture absorption ability of the graft copolymers decreased significantly with the increase in grafting percentage.