Effect of pressure induced graft copolymerization on the physico-chemical properties of bio-fibers

The present study deals with the surface modification of Agave americana L. fiber through graft copolymerization of methyl methacrylate under pressure in the presence of ceric ammonium nitrate as redox initiator. The various reaction parameters such as reaction time, pressure, concentration of nitric acid, initiator, and monomer, etc. were optimized to have the maximum graft yield of 13.6%. The grafted fibers were then subjected to the evaluation of different physico-chemical properties such as swelling behavior, solubility, moisture absorption under different humidity levels, resistance to acids and bases, etc. It was observed that swelling behavior, solubility behavior, and moisture absorbance decreased with increase in grafting, whereas resistance to acids and bases increased with grafting. The fibers grafted under the optimized conditions were then characterized by Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and x-ray diffraction techniques.