Grafting of Preformed Polystyrene onto Cotton Cellulose

Abstract

Grafting of preformed polystyrene onto cotton cellulose has been investigated. Low molecular-weight, carboxyl-terminated polystyrene was synthesized by anionic poly merization techniques and polymers with DPn ranging between 9 and 120 were obtained. Grafting was achieved by reaction of the acyl chloride derivatives of the carboxyl- terminated polystyrene with cotton yarns and fabrics. Graft copolymers with low molecular-weight side chains and relatively high degrees of suiostitution were obtained. The grafting degree of substitution was mainly dependent on the molecular size of the reacting preformed polymer, whereby high molecular-weight preformed polymers lead to low degrees of substitution. Wrinkle recovery and water of imbibition of the modified fabrics and yarns were determined.