Graft Copolymerization of Acrylonitrile and Ethyl Methacrylate on Dextrin

Abstract

Graft copolymers of Acrylonitrile and ethyl methcrylate on dextrin were prepared by the use of ceric ion initiator in aqueous medium at 290C. The molecular weight of grafted poly(ethyl methacrylate) chains were higher than for polyacrylonitrile grafts; but the latter were more frequently grafted on the backbone polymer. The dependence of the molecular weight of the grafted chains on ceric ion concentration suggests that interaction of growing graft polymer chains with ceric ion is important in the termination process of graft copolymerisation. Graft copolymeriation of ethyl methacrylate onto dextrin in the presence of various amounts of acrylonitrile was studied. The compositions of the copolymer samples, calculated from their nitrogen content, showed that in the presence of ethyl acrylate, relatively small amounts of acrylonitrile monomer was grafted onto dextrin.

Nigerian Journal of Chemical Research Vol. 11 2006: pp. 22-27