Thermal degradation of partially carboxymethylated cellulose grafted with 4‐vinylpyridine

Partially carboxymethylated cellulose (PCMC) was grafted with 4‐vinylpyridine (4‐VP) using ceric ammonium nitrate (CAN) as initiator and the thermal behaviour of the grafted samples having different grafting yields was studied by means of thermogravimetric dynamic analysis (TGA). For comparison, the thermal behaviour of poly(4‐vinylpyridine), P(4‐VP), and the ungrafted cellulosic substrate were also examined. The activation energies were determined according to the Broido method. From the thermogravimetric curves the temperature range at which the main decomposition occurred was determined and showed that the thermal degradation of grafted samples was initiated at lower temperature than both PCMC and P(4‐VP).