Radiation-induced graft polymerization of acrylic acid and glycidyl methacrylate onto abaca/polyester nonwoven fabric

Surface modified fibrous materials that possess carboxylic and amine functional groups were developed from a nonwoven fabric (NWF) containing abaca fibers. A facile method was employed for graft polymerization of acrylic acid (AA) and glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) from an electron beam irradiated abaca/polyester NWF. Materials with sufficient amount of graft chains were prepared after reaction of NWF, irradiated at a maximum absorbed dose of 40 kGy, with 15% AA aqueous solution and 5% GMA emulsion for 2 and 3 hours, respectively. Characterization of the pristine, grafted, and functionalized materials with FTIR, TGA, and SEM indicates that grafting and functionalization were successfully performed. The batch adsorption studies showed that the PAA-modified NWF exhibited higher affinity toward Ni2+, Cd2+, and Pb2+ than the EDA-modified abaca/polyester-g-PGMA.