Preparation of a novel 1-vinylimidazole/2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate grafted polyethylene terephthalate/kenaf adsorbent via radiation-induced graft copolymerization

Abstract

Background: 1-Vinylimidazole (VIM) / 2-Hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) were synthesized using radical-initiated copolymerization using benzoyl peroxide as an initiator in toluene at 60°C for 5 hours. Composition of copolymer for different monomers feed were determined quantitatively by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) through characteristic absorption bands (660 cm-1 for VIM and 1729cm-1 for HEMA). The pre-synthesized copolymer was anchored onto polyethylene terephthalate (PET)/kenaf surface by hydroxyl groups linker via radiation-induced grafting. Objectives: To develop a novel and simple way to prepare functionalized adsorbent where thin layer of polymer can be directly transferred to the substrate, and therefore reduces chemical waste and save time. Results: Ratio 50:50 was found to be the best monomer feed ratio and 20kGy of absorbed radiation dose produced the highest percentage of grafting (%) with the average of 20.1%. Conclusion: A novel yet simple radiation-induced grafting-to method was demonstrated to prepare thin polymeric layer on PET/kenaf substrate using thermal annealing. The results have proven that the combination of radiation and thermal annealing can be used to graft polymers.