TITLE:
Emulsion Graft Polymerization of Methyl Methacrylate onto Cellulose Nanofibers
AUTHORS:
Hiromu Okada, Chao Zhao, Yusuke Mizuta, Katsumi Yoshino, Ryuichi Sugimoto
KEYWORDS:
Cellulose Nanofibers, Graft Polymerization, Methyl Methacrylate, Emulsion, Diethylzinc
JOURNAL NAME:
Green and Sustainable Chemistry,
Vol.11 No.1,
February
4,
2021
ABSTRACT: Methyl
methacrylate (MMA) was successfully grafted onto cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) at
room temperature in an emulsion system using a diethyl(1,10-phenanthroline N1,N10)zinc(II) complex (Phen-DEZ)
with oxygen as the radical initiator. The effects of reaction temperature,
initiator concentration, and monomer content on the grafting reaction were
investigated. The molecular weight of the non-grafted PMMA, which was produced
during graft polymerization, was more than 1 million, as determined by size
exclusion chromatography. The PMMA-grafted CNFs were analyzed by Fourier
transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and scanning
electron microscopy, which confirmed the grafting of PMMA on the nanofiber
surface. The study presents a strategy for the grafting of high-molecular
weight PMMA onto CNFs in an emulsion system using Phen-DEZ and O2.