Graft Copolymerization onto Chitosan V: Grafting Ethyl Acrylate onto Chitosan Initiated By Ceric Ion and Its Anti Microbial Activity

Ethyl Acrylate was grafted onto chitosan by using the ceric ammonium nitrate as the initiator. The effect of initiator concentration, monomer concentration, time & temperature on % G and % E were studied. The grafted samples were characterized using FTIR, SEM, atomic force microscopy AFM and XRD methods. Xray diffraction showed changes in the crystallinity pattern of chitosan after the copolymerization reaction. Evidence of grafting was confirmed by FTIR spectroscopy. The morphology evaluated by SEM and AFM proves that in the absence of chitosan, latexes of vinyl homopolymers contain quasi monodispersed spheres with average diameter of about 450 nm or 250 nm while the graft copolymers latexes are formed by clustered irregular beads with average diameter less than 200 nm. The antibacterial activities of the grafted polymer have also been investigated.