Grafting of poly(glycidyl methacrylate) onto alginic acid

Grafting of poly(glycidyl methacrylate) (PGMA) onto alginic acid was carried out using ceric ammonium nitrate as initiator, using various concentrations of monomer and initiator, and various temperatures and times. Percentage grafting, grafting efficiency and rates of polymerization, graft copolymerization and homopolymerization were evaluated in all cases. Infrared spectra for pure alginic acid, poly(glycidyl methacrylate) and the alginic acid-poly(glycidyl methacrylate) were taken to establish the occurrence of grafting. Differential scanning calorimetry was carried out for alginic acid, poly(glycidyl methacrylate), the graft copolymer and the physical mixture to establish evidence for grafting.