Grafting Vinyl Monomers onto Chitosan:IV:Graft Copolymerized of Acrylicacid onto Chitosan Using Ceric Ammonium Nitrate as the Initiator— Characterization and Antimicrobial Activities

Acrylicacid was grafted onto chitosan by using the ceric ammonium nitrate as the initiator. The effect of initiator concentration, monomer concentration, time & temperature on % G and % GE were studied. The grafted samples were characterized using FTIR, TGA, SEM and XRD methods. From the FTIR data it was ascertained that grafting has occurred considerably. The morphology of the grafted polymer was observed from the SEM picture. The thermal analysis indicated the different stages of degradation of the grafted copolymer. Evidence of grafting was obtained from comparison of SEM, XRD, and FTIR of the grafted and nongrafted chitosan as well as solubility characteristics of the products. The antibacterial and antifungal activities of the grafted polymer have also been investigated.