| Abstract: | The activity to initiate graft copolymerization was investigated for various cellulose samples. Oxidation of the sample with hydrogen peroxide or sodium hypochlorite indicated a remarkable increase in the per cent grafting as well as the number of grafts. This phenomenon must be attributed to the formation of special reactive groups in cellulosic materials. However, the treatment with hot water caused a definite decrease in the per cent grafting or the number of grafts for the graft copolymerization on the sample, indicating a lower activity to initiate graft copolymerization. Accordingly, the reactive groups, once formed on the sample by oxidation, seemed to be easily decomposed by hot water. The ferric ion adsorbed on cellulose increased the per cent grafting and accelerated the formation of grafts, and the contribution of metallic ions to the initiation was recognized as one of the important factors of graft copolymerization. |
