Oil-in-water microemulsion assisted in-situ polymerization of methacrylic acid inside cellulose

Abstract

In-situ polymerization of methacrylic acid inside cellulose was investigated using oil-in-water microemulsion. Oil-in-water microemulsion containing oil-soluble initiator preferably AIBN (2,2'- Azobisisobutyronitrile) was prepared by vigorously stirring the mixture of water, surfactant/ethanol and AIBN in benzene. The microemulsion produced was small enough, confirmed by light-scatter technique, hence ca p a b le of bringing the initiator into the interior of cellulosic structure. The oil-in-water microemulsion treated cotton fabric was then placed into methacrylic ac id solution prior to heating the solution to 60℃ to initiate the in-situ polymerization. FT-IR spectroscopy confirmed that cotton fabric contained the polymethacrylic acid inside cellulose structure. Dyeing of modified cotton fabric with basic dyestuff was then carried-out in the ab sence of any auxiliaries. The results showed that dyed modified fabric exhibited marked increase in color strength when compared to those obtained from unmodified fabric. An improvement in the dyeability of modified cotton with basic dyestuff was attributed to the attractive force between positive charges of the basic dye and negative charges of in-situ polymethacrylic ac d. The results also revealed that this type of modification occured inside the cellulosic structure. A s a result, dyed modified fabric could offer better properties than those obtained from graft polymerization technique which was mostly found on the fiber surface.