Grafting of Poly (4-Vinyl Pyridine) onto Chitin under Heterogeneous Conditions

Chitin gel beads were prepared, crushed into powder and grafted with poly(4- vinylpyridine) (P4VP) under nitrogen gas by using cerium ammonium nitrate(CAN) as a redox initiator under heterogeneous conditions in toluene. The effect of the amount of chitin, concentration of the monomer (4VP), amount of the initiator (CAN), reaction time and temperature on the grafting percent has been studied. The maximum grafting yield of poly (4-vinylpyridine) on to chitin beads was determined to be 380%. The optimum conditions were 0.10 g of chitin, 10 mL of (4VP) monomer, and 0.50 g of cerium ammonium nitrate (CAN) initiator at 60°C for one hour reaction time. The grafted samples were found to be soluble in aqueous acidic buffer solution (pH=1.2). The grafted and non grafted products were characterized by FTIR spectroscopy, SEM, DSC and C13 NMR analysis. Keywords: 4-vinylpyridine (4VP), chitin gel, redox initiated grafting.