Comparative study of the behavior of carboxymethyl cellulose-g-poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) copolymers and their equivalent physical blends

A comparative study of the behavior of carboxymethyl cellulose and poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) as graft copolymers and physical blends, in solution and in solid state was accomplished by viscometry, turbidimetry, IR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetry, and enzymatic degradation. Both in diluted and concentrated solutions, the graft copolymers exhibited a thermothickening effect, while the corresponding mixtures of the two components exhibited an Arrhenius behavior. Solid phase investigations showed morphological differences between graft copolymers and their equivalent physical blends. The enzymatic degradation behavior is essentially similar both for copolymers and blends (enzymatic degradation activity has similar values) although a slight increased enzymatic activity was noticed for the graft copolymers in comparison with the blends. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.