Ascorbic Acid/Hydrogen Peroxide–Initiated Graft Copolymerization of MMA onto Bombyx mori Silk Fibroin

Graft copolymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) onto Bombyx mori silk fibroin was investigated using ascorbic acid and hydrogen peroxide as redox system. The effect of different reaction parameters such as reaction time, temperature, and initiator and monomer concentrations on graft yield were determined. The optimum grafting conditions were found to be temperature = 65°C, time = 120 min, monomer concentration = 2.82 × 10−1 mol/L, ascorbic acid concentration = 2.83 × 10−2 mol/L, and H2O2 concentration = 1.58 × 10−1 mol/L. The structural properties of the fibers were studied with the help of FT-IR, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction, and TGA techniques.