Persulfate/ascorbic acid initiated synthesis of poly(acrylonitrile)‐grafted tamarind seed gum: A potential commercial gum

Acrylonitrile was grafted on to tamarind seed gum using persulfate/ascorbic acid redox initiator and a representative sample of the graft copolymer (Tm‐ g ‐PAN) was characterized using infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X‐ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Grafting conditions were optimized where % G and % E were found to increase with the increase in the concentration of the monomer; initiator, and the reaction temperature, whereas increase in gum concentration decreased the % G in the concentration range of 4–12 g/L, The maximum % grafting (% G ) and % efficiency (% E ) achieved were 305 and 75%, respectively. Water/saline retention, gel forming ability, and the shelf life of the grafted gum solutions were also studied to explore the possibility of its commercial utilization.