Synthesis of polysiloxanes with pendant methoxy‐substituted aromatic fragments

The synthesis of new polysiloxanes was performed via hydrosilylation reactions of polymethylhydrosiloxane with 4‐allyl‐1‐methoxybenzene and 4‐allyl‐1,2‐dimethoxybenzene in the presence of Karstedt's catalyst {Pt₂[(VinSiMe₂)₂O]₃} and platinum hydrochloric acid (0.1M solution in tetrahydrofuran). The hydrosilylation reactions were carried out at 60°C. The molar ratio of ?Si? H groups to the allylic compound was 1 : 1.2. The synthesized oligomers were characterized with ¹H‐NMR, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetry, and gel permeation chromatography. In the presence of platinum hydrochloric acid, not all active ?Si? H bonds took part in hydrosilylation, and because of this, gelation took place and the molecular masses of the extracted parts increased 7–8 times; in contrast to this, in the presence of Karstedt's catalyst, all active ?Si? H bonds participated in hydrosilylation, and an increase in the molecular masses did not occurs. The influence of substituted methoxy groups on the glass‐transition temperatures was studied. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. JAppl Polym Sci, 2008     

Formation of new thermoreactive polysiloxanes

Hydrosilylation of α,ω‐bis(trimethylsiloxy)methylhydridesiloxane to propargyl alcohol in the presence of catalyst, platinum hydrochloric acid, was performed at several temperatures. Comb‐type methylsiloxane oligomers with substituted reactive groups in the side chain have been obtained. At the high stages of reaction, gelation takes place. Except hydrosilylation, also proceeds dehydrocondensation reaction with low yield. The synthesized oligomers were characterized by ¹H‐NMR spectroscopy. Calculations by quantum‐mechanical semiempirical AM1 method for modeling reaction between methyldimethoxysilane [Me(MeO)₂SiH] and propargyl alcohol were performed for fully characterization of hydride addition of polymethylhydrosiloxane to propargyl alcohol. For all initial, intermediate, and final products enthalpies of formation as a function of the distance between ?C? Si? bonds are calculated. Comb‐type oligomers were characterized by gel‐permeation chromatography, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetry, and wide‐angle X‐ray diffractometry analyses. Crosslinking of synthesized oligomer using γ‐aminopropyltriethoxysilane was investigated and studied using DSC and TGA. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 104: 2168–2173, 2007     

Hydrosilylation reaction of methylhydridesiloxane to phenylacetylene

The hydrosilylation reaction of α,ω‐bis(trimethylsiloxy)methylhydridesiloxane to phenylacetylene in the presence of catalyst—platinum hydrochloric acid (0.1M solution in tetrahydrofuran)—at 1 : 35 ratio of initial compounds, at various temperatures (40–60°C) was investigated and methylsiloxane oligomers with phenethenyl substituted groups in the side chain has been obtained. It was shown that complete hydrosilylation of all active (Si? H groups do not take place. The hydrosilylation reaction order, activation energy, and rate constants were found. The synthesized oligomers were characterized by ¹H and ¹³C NMR and IR spectral data. Gel‐permeation chromatographic, differential scanning calorimetric, thermogravimetric, and wide‐angle X‐ray investigations of synthesized oligomers were carried out. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 100: 2511–2515, 2006     

Hydrosilylation reactions of methylhydridesiloxane to styrene and α‐methylstyrene

The hydrosilylation reaction of α,ω‐bis(trimethylsiloxy)methylhydridesiloxane to styrene and α‐methylstyrene in the presence of the catalyst platinum hydrochloric acid (a 0.1M solution in tetrahydrofuran) at a 1:35 ratio of initial compounds at various temperatures (80–90°C) was investigated, and methylsiloxane oligomers with aryl‐substituted groups in the side chain were obtained. Complete hydrosilylation of all active ?Si? H groups did not take place. The hydrosilylation reaction order, activation energies. and rate constants were determined. The synthesized oligomers were characterized by ¹H, ¹³C, and IR spectral data. For the full characterization of the hydride addition of methylhydridesiloxane to styrene by the quantum‐chemical half‐empiric Austin Model 1 (AM1) method for all initial, intermediate, and final products, in the modeling of the hydrosilylation reaction of methyldimethoxysilane to styrene, the heats of formation, energy changes of the system depending on the change of distance between ?C? Si? bonds, and the charge values on the atoms, dipole moments, and bond orders were calculated. The synthesized oligomers were characterized by gel permeation chromatography, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, and wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 101: 388–394, 2006     

Formation of polymethylsiloxanes with alkyl side groups

Hydrosilylation of α,ω‐bis(trimethylsiloxy)methylhydrosiloxane to alkenes in the presence of a catalyst was performed at several temperatures (30–70°C). Comb‐type methylsiloxane oligomers with various alkyl substituted groups in the side chains have been obtained. Not all active ≡Si? H groups participate in the reaction. The reaction order, activation energies, and rate constants have been determined. The synthesized oligomers were characterized by ¹H, ¹³C, ¹H COSY NMR, and FTIR spectroscopy. Calculations using the quantum‐chemical semiempirical AM1 method for modeling reaction between methyldimethoxysilane [Me(MeO)₂SiH] and hexene‐1 were performed to evaluate possible reaction paths. For all initial, intermediate, and final products, enthalpies of formation as a function of the distance between ≡C? Si≡ bonds are calculated. The hydride addition is energetically more favorable according to the anti‐Markovnikov rule than according to the Markovnikov rule. Comb‐type oligomers were characterized by gel‐permeation chromatography, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetry, and wide‐angle X‐ray diffractometry. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 104: 1176–1183, 2007     

Preparation and performance of high refractive index silicone resin‐type materials for the packaging of light‐emitting diodes

A novel high refractive index and highly transparent silicone resin‐type material for the packaging of high‐power light‐emitting diodes (LEDs) is introduced, which was synthesized by hydrosilylation of vinyl end‐capped methylphenyl silicone resin and methylphenyl hydrosilicone oil catalyzed by Karstedt's catalyst. The vinyl end‐capped methylphenyl silicone resins were prepared by hydrolysis?polycondensation method from methylphenyl diethoxysilane (MePhSi(OEt)₂), phenyl triethoxysilane (PhSi(OEt)₃), and vinyl dimethylethoxy silane (Me₂ViSiOEt) in toluene/water mixture catalyzed by cation‐exchange resin. The vinyl end‐capped methylphenyl silicone resins were characterized by ¹H‐NMR and Fourier‐transform infrared. The performances of the cured silicone resin‐type materials for LED packaging have been examined in detail. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013     

Functionalization of polymethylhydrosiloxane gels with an allyl ureido benzocrown ether derivative: Complexation properties

Crosslinked polymethylhydrosiloxane (PMHS) thin films prepared by sol–gel polycondensation have been functionalized by Pt‐catalyzed hydrosilylation of SiH groups with an allyl ureido crown ether precursor. To this purpose, both 4′‐allylurea‐benzo‐15‐crown‐5 ( 1 ) and 1‐allyl‐3‐propyl‐urea ( 2 ) were synthesized and characterized. We have shown that competitive side‐reactions occurred following hydrosilylation due to the hydrolysis of part of the SiH groups resulting in the formation of new crosslinks Si(CH₃)O_3/2 as shown by solid‐state ²⁹Si‐NMR. This is explained by the deactivation of the Pt catalyst toward hydrosilylation by amide groups. For thin films (～ 1 μm) prepared on silicon wafers, a quantitative method based on FT‐IR transmission spectroscopy was used to measure the crosslinking density of the network, and the percentage of functionalization (SiC %) following hydrosilylation. The results are discussed in relation to the mesh size of the network, and the diffusion of alkenes and water molecules within lightly crosslinked PMHS gels obtained by varying the amount of triethoxysilane crosslinker (mol %) from 15 to 1%. The self‐organization properties of ureido groups by H‐bonding were studied by FT‐IR for the functionalized thin films. The complexation properties of the crown ether 1 ‐functionalized thin films were evidenced by using FT‐IR following diffusion‐reactions of NaSCN and KSCN salts in CHCl₃ : MeOH solvent mixtures within thin films. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009     

Synthesis of vinyl substitute poly(silphenylene‐siloxane) via silyl hydride‐dialkoxysilane process

The synthesis of vinyl‐substituted silphenylene‐siloxane polymer through B(C₆F₅)₃ catalyzed polycondensation of 1,4‐bis(dimethylsilyl)benzene and vinylmethyldimethoxysilane is described. ¹H‐NMR, ²⁹Si‐NMR, and UV spectroscopy indicate that the vinyl groups remain undamaged during the polycondensation reaction. No hydrosilylation side reaction is observed under the reaction conditions. The microstructure of the polymer is not perfectly alternating with a randomization of 20%. The temperature for 5% mass loss is 430°C in inert atmosphere and 417°C in oxidative atmosphere with a residue of 56% at 700°C. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2007     

Synthesis and ultraviolet‐curing behaviors of vinyl ether functionalized polyurethane oligomers

The vinyl ether functionalized oligomer is one of the most basic components of vinyl ether functionalized materials for cationic UV‐curable coatings. In this study, three types of vinyl ether functionalized polyurethane oligomers (i.e., polyether, polyester, and polydimethylsiloxane) were synthesized with diisocyanate, diol, and hydroxyethyl vinyl ether. These oligomers were characterized by IR, ¹H‐NMR, and ¹³C‐NMR spectroscopy. The effect of the raw material ratio on the oligomer, UV‐curing behaviors, and thermal properties of these oligomers were investigated. The UV‐curing behavior was analyzed by real‐time Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The vinyl ether terminated polyester urethane oligomer exhibited better UV curing, with a higher final conversion and maximum UV‐curing rates. In addition, the light intensity was enhanced for oligomers with better UV‐curing properties. Research on these vinyl ether functionalized oligomers is essential to the development and applications of cationic vinyl ethers systems. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 40501.     

Electrocopolymerization kinetics of a binary mixture of 3‐chloroaniline 2‐amino‐4‐phenylthiazole and characterization of the obtained block copolymer films

Electrocopolymerization of a binary mixture of 3‐chloroaniline and 2‐amino‐4‐phenylthiazole on platinum electrode in acid medium was carried out under different reaction conditions such as temperature, current density, hydrochloric acid, and monomer concentrations with duration time. The initial rate of the electrocopolymerization reaction on platinum electrode is small and the rate law is R_p = K₂ [D]^1.29[HCl]^0.97[M]^1.94. The apparent activation energy is found to be 38.87 kJ/mol. The obtained copolymer film is characterized by ¹H‐NMR, elemental analysis, GPC IR, UV‐visible, and cyclic voltammetry and compared with those of the two homopolymers. The mechanism of the electrocopolymerization reaction is also discussed and the monomer reactivity ratio (r₁and r₂) is calculated. The thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) is used to confirm the proposed structure and determination of the number of water molecules in the polymeric chain unit. X‐ray and scanning electron microscopic analysis are used to investigate the surface morphology. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 97: 2076–2087, 2005     

Electropolymerization kinetics of a binary mixture of pyrrole and o‐aminobenzoic acid and characterization of the obtained polymer films

Poly (pyrrol‐co‐o‐aminobenzoic acid) has been synthesized electrochemically from an aqueous acid medium. The initial rate of electrocopolymerization reaction on platinum electrode is small and the rate law is: Rate = K₂ [D]^1.02[HCl] ^1.44[M]^2.00. The apparent activation energy (E_a) is found to be 90.11 kJ mol^?1. The polymer films obtained have been characterized by cyclic voltammetry, X‐ray diffraction, elemental analysis, thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy, ¹H NMR, and IR‐spectroscopy. The mechanism of the electrochemical polymerization reaction has been discussed. The monomer reactivity ratios (r₁ and r₂) were calculated. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

Synthesis and characterization of low‐molecular‐weight polyacrolein

Acrolein was polymerized in a polar solvent in the presence of terc‐ and sec‐butyl lithium as initiators. Using a low monomer to initiator molar ratio and 1‐h reaction time, cyclic structures were shown to be formed in the main chain of the resulting oligomers. The influence of different monomer to initiator molar ratios on molecular weight and on molecular weight distribution was investigated. Chain‐transfer reactions toward the monomer resulted in lower molecular weights and narrower polydispersions as [M]/[I] increased. The influence of initiator type on the polymer molecular weight was also evaluated. FTIR analysis of the degradation products at different heating temperatures indicated that the oligomers structure is composed of aldehyde, ether, and vinyl functional groups. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009     

Electropolymerization kinetics of o‐aminophenol and characterization of the obtained polymer films

Poly(ortho‐aminophenol) has been synthesized electrochemically from a previously deoxygenated acid medium. The initial rate of electropolymerization reaction on platinum electrode is small and the rate law is: Rate = k₂ [D]^0.50[HCl]^1.125[M]^1.29. The apparent activation energy (E_a) was found to be 68.63 kJ mol^?1. The polymer films obtained have been characterized by cyclic voltammetry, X‐ray diffraction, elemental analysis, TGA, scanning electron microscopy, ¹H NMR, UV–visible, and IR spectroscopy. The mechanism of the electrochemical polymerization reaction has been discussed. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 99: 3093–3109, 2006     

Synthesis and characterization of hydroxy‐terminated polyether‐polydimethylsiloxane‐polyether (PE‐PDMS‐PE) triblock oligomers and their use in the preparation of thermoplastic polyurethanes

A series of hydroxy‐terminated polyether‐polydimethylsiloxane‐polyether (α,ω‐dihydroxy‐(PE‐PDMS‐PE)) ABA triblock oligomers were synthesized from silanic fluids and methyl polyallyloxide polyethers. The reaction was a one‐step solventless hydrosilylation reaction with chloroplatinic acid (CPA) catalyst in the presence of heat. These ABA oligomers were characterized via ¹H‐NMR, ¹³C‐NMR, ²⁹Si‐NMR, FT‐IR, and GPC to demonstrate that they exhibit a 100% linear ABA structure with a siloxane Si? O chain in the center and polyether ethylene oxide (EO)/propylene oxide (PO) chains on the two sides terminated by hydroxy groups. The triblock oligomers were used to form thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPUs) using two‐step solventless bulk polymerization. The investigation of triblock oligomers impact on TPUs mechanical properties, thermal performance, surface water repellency, and morphology performance were analyzed by Instron material tester, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), water contact angles (WCA), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and transmission electron microscope (TEM). DSC and TGA indicated that PE‐PDMS‐PE modified TPUs had a clear lower T_g under ?120°C and the temperature of 50% weight loss was improved from 280 to 340°C. PE‐PDMS‐PE–modified TPU did not have the marked reduction on mechanical properties than pure polyether produced TPU. Tensile strength was maintained at 13 MPa and elongation was maintained at 300%. SEM and TEM were used to investigate the copolymers’ morphology performance and found that all PO PE‐PDMS‐PE had a pseudo‐three phase separation. WCA analysis confirmed that PE‐PDMS‐PE–modified TPU had significantly improved hydrophobic performance because the silicone structure linked into TPU copolymers. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 42521.     

Synthesis of poly(vinyl alcohol)‐graft‐poly(ε‐caprolactone) and poly(vinyl alcohol)‐graft‐poly(lactide) in melt with magnesium hydride as catalyst

Grafting of poly(ε‐caprolactone) (PCL) and poly(lactide) (PLA) chains on poly(vinyl alcohol) backbone (PVA degree of hydrolysis 99%) was investigated using MgH₂ environmental catalyst and melt‐grown ring‐opening polymerization (ROP) of ε‐caprolactone (CL) and L ‐lactide (LA), that avoiding undesirable toxic catalyst and solvent. The ability of MgH₂ as catalyst as well as yield of reaction were discussed according to various PVA/CL/MgH₂ and PVA/LA/MgH₂ ratio. PVA‐g‐PCL and PVA‐g‐PLA were characterized by ¹H‐ and ¹³C‐NMR, DSC, SEC, IR. For graft copolymers easily soluble in tetrahydrofuran (THF) or chloroform, wettability and surface energy of cast film varied in relation with the length and number of hydrophobic chains. Aqueous solution of micelle‐like particles was realized by dissolution in THF then addition of water. Critical micelle concentration (CMC) decreased with hydrophobic chains. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009     

New Pyridine ONN‐Pincer Gold and Palladium Complexes: Synthesis,Characterization and Catalysis in Hydrogenation,Hydrosilylation and C?C Cross‐Coupling Reactions

The ONN‐tridentate unsymmetrical pincer 2‐[6‐(pyrrolidin‐1‐ylmethyl)pyridin‐2‐yl]phenol and N‐tert‐butyl‐1‐{[6‐(2‐hydroxyphenyl)pyridin‐2‐yl]methyl}pyrrolidine‐2‐carboxamide ligands were synthesized by an easy method in high purity and good yields. All the organic compounds were characterized by elemental analysis, mass spectrometry, IR and ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy. Palladium(II) and gold(III) complexes have been prepared as air‐stable solids, with the ONN‐tridentate ligand after deprotonation of the hydroxy group, the coordination of the metal ion is completely stereospecific and gives rise to only one diastereoisomer. These complexes were shown to be very active catalysts in the hydrogenation (80 % ee was achieved with the chiral gold complex), hydrosilylation and C C coupling, Suzuki and Heck, reactions, under mild conditions.     

Infrared spectroscopy evidence for the hydrosilylation of rubbers and hydrogen-containing polysiloxane via heat processing

The hydrosilylation reaction is very important in silicone-introducing reactions and in the crosslinking of silicone rubbers. In this study, through Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, the hydrosilylation reaction between hydrogen-containing polysiloxane (H-PDMS) and several kinds of rubber, including styrene–butadiene rubber (SBR), nitrile–butadiene rubber (NBR), chloroprene rubber (CR), and natural rubber (NR), with heat processing was researched. The IR spectra of each compound film were determined after reaction with H-PDMS under 110°C for different times. Through the quantitative estimation of the progress of the hydrosilylation reaction in the course of the heat processing, we established a method for calculating the changes of the peak areas of the Si H bond and vinyl groups of each sample at each reaction time and computed the ratio of the integral area of Si H and CC to that of each compound. The Si H content decreased 85 and 30% in SBR–Si and NBR–Si, respectively. However, the ratio of the integral area of transmittance of Si H in NR–Si and CR–Si changed very little during the whole process. The Si H content decreased less than 20% in NR–Si and CR–Si. All ratios of the integral area of transmittance of the vinyl groups (R_Vinyl) of each compound decreased as the reaction time increased at 110°C; the decrease values were very small. The rates of all R_Vinyl decreases were slow, and the decreasing sequence was the same as the order of decreasing Si H content. The hydrosilylation reaction between H-PDMS and SBR was quite smooth in the heat processing and better than that between H-PDMS and NBR. The hydrosilylation reactions of H-PDMS with NR and CR were less satisfying. The results show that polyolefin rubbers can be modified or crosslinked by H-PDMS via heat processing. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012     

Synthesis of polycarbonate‐silica nanocomposites from copolymerization of CO2 with allyl glycidyl ether,cyclohexene oxide,and sol‐gel

The copolymerization of carbon dioxide, allyl glycidyl ether, and cyclohexene oxide catalyzed by the system consisting of Y(CF₃CO₂)₃, Zn(Et)₂, and pyrogallol in the solvent of 1, 3‐dioxolane was performed in this study. The IR, ¹H NMR, and ¹³C‐NMR spectra, as well as the elemental analysis, indicated that the resulting copolymer was an alternating polycarbonate possessing more than 90% of carbonate units. The molecular weight could be as high as 1.5 × 10⁵, and the polydispersity index was 4.5. The resultant polycarbonate was found to effectively react with 3‐(trimethoxysilyl)propyl methacrylate via a free radical reaction to result in a precursor used in the sol‐gel process to synthesize a polycarbonate‐silica nanocomposite. The nanocomposites were characterized by SEM, ²⁹Si NMR, TGA, DSC, and UV–Vis. Silica particles with size less than 100 nm were found to disperse uniformly in the nanocomposites. It was also found that the thermal properties were dependent on the content of cyclohexene carbonate units. Both the thermal and mechanical properties of the resultant nanocomposites could be adjusted with silica content, while the transparency was comparable to the base copolymer even at high silica contents. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 98: 750–757, 2005     

Structural symmetry breaking of silicon‐containing poly(amide‐imide) oligomers and its relation to electrical conductivity and Raman‐active vibrations

Optically active poly(amide‐imide) oligomers were synthesized by direct polycondensation between an aromatic diamine and a dicarboxylic acid both containing a diphenylsilylene unit. The reaction was carried out using triphenyl phosphite/pyridine in the presence of CaCl₂ and N‐methyl‐2‐pyrrolidone as solvent. Oligomers were obtained in good yields and showed high solubility in common aprotic polar solvents. The precursors, monomers and poly(amide‐imide) oligomers were characterized using elemental analysis and Fourier transform infrared and NMR (¹H, ¹³C, ²⁹Si) spectroscopy. Additionally, the main vibrations of the functional groups (C?O, C?C or N? H) in the oligomers with respect to temperature were characterized using Raman spectroscopy. The glass transition temperature was determined by studying the Raman spectra and corroborated using differential scanning calorimetry. The thermal stability was studied using thermogravimetric analysis. The molecular mass of the compounds was obtained from matrix‐assisted laser desorption ionization time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry and their optical properties were analyzed using UV‐visible diode array spectrophotometry. The electronic properties of the oligomers as well as the delocalization of charge carriers within their structures were analyzed using conductance‐voltage curves, which showed that these materials are excellent candidates for integrated optoelectronic applications. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry     

Synthesis of chitosan‐graft‐poly[2‐cyano‐1‐(pyridin‐3‐yl)allyl acrylate] copolymer from a novel monomer,prepared using a Morita–Baylis–Hillman reaction,and characterization of its antimicrobial activity

A novel method has been developed to modify the natural polymer chitosan. The process utilizes a monomer prepared by employing a Morita–Baylis–Hillman (MBH) reaction. Specifically, the vinyl monomer 2‐[hydroxy(pyridin‐3‐yl)methyl]acrylonitrile (HPA) was synthesized using a high‐yielding MBH reaction of acrylonitrile with pyridine‐3‐carboxaldehyde in the presence of 1,4‐diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane. Conversion of HPA to 2‐cyano‐1‐(pyridin‐3‐yl)allyl acrylate (CPA) was then carried out by reaction of acryloyl chloride. The highly functionalized monomer CPA was grafted onto chitosan through a reaction in 2% acetic acid containing a persulfate and a sulfite (K₂S₂O₈/Na₂SO₃) as redox promoter. An optimal grafting percentage of 123% is obtained when the grafting process is conducted at 60 °C for 4 h employing a 1:0.5 ratio of K₂S₂O₈ and Na₂SO₃ at a concentration of 2.5 × 10^?3 mol L^?1. Chitosan‐graft‐poly[2‐cyano‐1‐(pyridin‐3‐yl)allyl acrylate] graft copolymers, having various grafting percentages, were characterized using Fourier transform infrared, ¹H NMR and ¹³C NMR spectroscopies, X‐ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis and scanning electron microscopy. Finally, the results of studies probing the antimicrobial activities of the polymers against selected microorganisms show that the graft copolymers display higher growth inhibition activities against bacteria and fungi than does chitosan. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry