Abstract
Graft copolymers of silk sericin (SS) and methyl methacrylate (MMA) using ceric ammonium nitrate (CAN) as initiator have been synthesized under nitrogen atmosphere in aqueous media. Graft copolymers (SS-g-PMMA) were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometry and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The images of SEM showed that the surface morphology of grafted SS was much rougher than that of ungrafted SS due to the incorporation of PMMA fragments. The analytical results of the orthogonal experimental design showed that the strongest effect on grafting efficiency was the concentration of monomer (CMMA) and the weakest was the reaction time (t). This led to further study of the effects of different factors on graft copolymerization. Finally, we proposed a possible reaction mechanism for the graft copolymerization.