Novel regenerable N‐halamine polymeric biocides. II. Grafting hydantoin‐containing monomers onto cotton cellulose

A novel cyclic‐amine monomer, 3‐allyl‐5,5‐dimethylhydantoin (ADMH) was synthesized with good yield by the reaction of allyl bromide with 5,5‐dimethylhydantoin (DMH), and was characterized by FTIR and 1H‐NMR spectra. ADMH alone cannot be grafted onto other polymers. However, the presence of acrylonitrile markedly enhanced the ADMH graft yield onto cotton cellulose. The influence of reaction conditions on the graft copolymerization was investigated. After chlorine bleach treatment, hydantoin units in the grafted copolymers were easily transformed into N‐halamine structures. Grafted samples exhibited potent antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli, and the functional properties were shown to be durable and regenerable.