Radiation‐induced graft copolymerization of mixtures of styrene and acrylamide onto cellulose acetate. V. Studies on thermal behavior

The thermal behaviors of cellulose acetate, either grafted or ungrafted, were studied. A thermogram of cellulose acetate when grafted with acrylamide is characterized by an endothermic peak at 340°C. If, however, styrene is grafted, the thermogram shows two characteristic exothermic peaks at 330 and 420°C. A thermogram of the mixed graft comprising both acrylamide and styrene, on the other hand, is characterized by only one exothermic peak at 420°C. A consideration of various thermal data indicates that cellulose acetate when grafted is comparatively more stable than when not grafted. Again, styrene is found to be more effective than acrylamide in increasing the stability.