Abstract
In this paper, the morphological transformations in Hibiscus sabdariffa (Roselle) stem fibre on graft copolymerisation with acrylonitrile (AN) as principal monomer and its binary mixture with 2–vinyl pyridine (2–VP), styrene (Sty), and butyl acrylate (BA), using a ceric ammonium nitrate–nitric acid initiator system, are reported. Different reaction parameters, such as temperature, time, initiator concentration, monomer concentration, and pH, have been optimised. The graft copolymers were characterised by FTIR, SEM, XRD, TGA, and DTA techniques. The percentage crystallinity and crystallinity index were found to decrease with increase in percentage grafting. The swelling behaviour of graft copolymers in methanol, n-butanol, water, and dimethylformamide was studied, and screening for dye uptake behaviour in 0.1% gentian violet dye over a 7 h was carried out. The graft copolymers were found to possess moisture, chemical, and thermal resistance. These graft copolymers could be utilised for various advanced applications.
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