Adsorbent Material from Grafting Polymethylacrylate unto Methylcellulose from Elephant (Napier) Grass Cellulose
- August 29, 2020
- Posted by: RSIS Team
- Categories: Biochemistry, IJRIAS
International Journal of Research and Innovation in Applied Science (IJRIAS) | Volume V, Issue IV, July 2020 | ISSN 2454-6194
Alex O. Akinsanoye*, Mopelola A. Omotoso, Elizabeth A. Ogunlana
Department of Chemistry, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
Corresponding author
Abstract:- The study examined the potential of elephant (Napier) grass cellulose in producing useful adsorbents that are biodegradable. Cellulose fibers were extracted from elephant grass fibers by chemical process. This was methylated into methylcellulose. Methylacrylate(MA) was also polymerized to polymethylacrylate (PMA). This was copolymerized with methylcellulose to form a PMA-graft methyl cellulose copolymer. The polymerization was carried out using acidified KMnO4 as initiator. All polymerization reactions were done in a batch reactor at 90oC under inert condition. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (1H-NMR) were used to characterize the methylcellulose, PMA and the copolymer.
The percentage of the PMA formed is 27.8%. The copolymer grafted percentage was 43.3% while the grafting efficiency was 72.2%. The prominent bands in the FTIR spectrum of the cellulose are 1080.02cm-1 confirming the presence of C-O-C bond and 3347.00cm-1 confirming sharp and strong O-H peak. The methylcellulose showed a broad O-H peak at 3431.98cm-1 and a C-O peak at 1081.10cm-1 to confirm methylation. The MA showed an important IR band at 1737.14cm-1 to confirm C=O bond. Its PMA showed similar peak at 1747.37cm-1. The copolymer showed an important IR peak at 3446.24cm-1 confirming O-H stretch in the copolymer. 1H-NMR studies confirms H2C-O at 3.62ppm in the methylcellulose, allylic proton at 1.98ppm and alpha carbonyl proton at 3.42ppm in the PMA. The peak at 12.42ppm is due to CO2H group and it’s the novel peak found in the copolymer. It is an evidence that grafting occurred between PMA and the methylcellulose backbone. The result showed that Napier grass has potential for industrial production of cellulose fibers that can be modified into useful adsorbents.
Keywords: Adsorbent, Biodegradability, Cellulose, Copolymer, Methylcellulose.
