Graft copolymer based on (sodium alginate-g-acrylamide): Characterization and study of Water swelling capacity, metal ion sorption, flocculation and resistance to biodegradability

Graft copolymer of alginate and acrylamide was synthesized by grafting acrylamide chains on to alginate by free radical polymerization using potassium bromate/thiourea redox system in an inert atmosphere. The reaction conditions for maximum grafting have been optimized by varying the reaction variables, including the concentration of acrylamide (3.0 × 102–9.3 × 102 mol dm−3), potassium bromate (8 × 10−3–16 × 10−3 mol dm−3), thiourea (1.6 × 10−3–4.8 × 10−3 mol dm−3), sulphuric acid (3.0 × 10−3–7 × 10−3 mol dm−3), alginate (0.6–1.6 g dm−3) along with time duration (60–180 min) and temperature (30–50 °C). Water swelling capacity, metal ion sorption, flocculation and resistance to biodegradability studies of synthesized graft copolymer have been performed with respect to the parent polymer. The grafted polymers were characterized by FTIR spectroscopy and thermo gravimetric analysis.