X-Ray Diffraction, Morphological, and Thermal Studies on Methylmethacrylate Graft Copolymerized Saccharum ciliare Fiber

This article deals with the study of graft copolymerization of methylmethacrylate (MMA) onto Saccharum ciliare fiber in air in the presence of ferrous ammonium sulfate-potassium persulfate (FAS-KPS) as redox initiator. After optimizing the various reaction parameters such as solvent, time, temperature, concentration of monomer, and initiator to obtain maximum graft yield (58%), the grafted fiber has been characterized by various techniques such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform-infrared spectrophotometry (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction, and thermogravimetric/differential thermal analysis along with DTG studies. The raw fiber and graft copolymerized fibers were also subjected to evaluation of different physical and chemical properties.