Rapid Homogeneous Preparation of Cellulose Graft Copolymer in BMIMCL Under Microwave Irradiation

Acrylic acid(AA) was grafted onto cellulose in homogeneous media by using ammonium persulfate as an initiator in the presence of N,N'-methylenebisacrylamide as a crosslinker under microwave (MW) irradiation. The powerful and highly efficient direct solvent, 1-butyl-3-methylinidazolium chloride ionic liquid was used as the solvent for the dissolution of cellulose and the media for the homogeneous graft polymerization of AA onto cellulose. The use of MW resulted in a drastic reduction of reaction time: 3 min irradiation was sufficient, compared with 30 min to 5 h, as conventional heating was used. Investigation was conducted on the effect of reaction parameters, such as monomer concentration, crosslinker dosage, exposure temperature and exposure time. The structure of the graft copolymer was confirmed by IR spectrum, thermogravimetric analyzer, and scanning electron microscope. The results show that the MW irradiation method can increase the reaction rate. And the graft copolymer is also an effective metal ion adsorbent. (C) 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 118: 399-404, 2010