Modification of microcrystalline cellulose by gamma radiation-induced grafting

Modified microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) was prepared through gamma radiation-induced graft polymerization of glycidyl methacrylate (GMA). Simultaneous grafting was employed wherein MCC with GMA in methanol was irradiated with gamma radiation in nitrogen atmosphere. The effects of different experimental factors such as monomer concentration, type of solvent and absorbed dose on the degree of grafting, Dg, were studied. The amount of grafted GMA, expressed as Dg, was determined gravimetrically. Information from grafted samples subjected to Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) in attenuated total reflectance (ATR) mode showed peaks corresponding to GMA which indicates successful grafting. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed that the crystalline region of MCC was not adversely affected after grafting with GMA. The thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) data showed that the decomposition of grafted MCC occurred at higher temperature compared to the base MCC polymer.