Synthesis of partially hydrolyzed graft copolymer (H-Ipomoea hederacea seed gum-g-polyacrylonitrile)

Polyacrylonitrile was grafted to Ipomoea hederacea (Ih) seed gum with 138.5% grafting yield and 43.55% grafting efficiency in a procedure that was performed under homogeneous microwave (MW) irradiation conditions for 70 s in the absence of a radical initiator. Under similar conditions, a maximum grafting yield of 108% and 33.96% efficiency was achieved when the K2S2O8/ascorbic acid redox system was used as a radical initiator in a thermostatic water bath at 35 °C. The effects of reaction variables, such as monomer/Ih seed gum concentration, MW power, and exposure time on the graft copolymerization were studied. The partially hydrolyzed graft copolymer (H-Ih-g-PAN) formed a loose, porous surface and improved the water absorbency of Ih seed gum. The swelling behavior of H-Ih-g-PAN in various ionic salt (NaCl, MgCl2 and Na2SO4) solutions was also systematically investigated. The graft copolymer was further characterized using FTIR, TGA, XRD, and SEM.