Toward Industrial Grafting of Cellulosic Substrates via ARGET ATRP

For the past decade, the interest in controlled grafting of cellulose has increased immensely. Surface-Initiated Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization (SI-ATRP) has attracted the most interest; however, the sensitivity of this system has so far hindered its utilization in industry. In this study, filter paper, dissolving pulp, bleached and unbleached Kraft-pulp, and chemi-thermomechanical pulp papers were grafted with methyl methacrylate, employing activators regenerated by electron transfer (ARGET) ATRP. The reactions were performed in bulk or with small amounts of aqueous solutions, with no deoxygenation performed. To further demonstrate the robustness of this method towards simpler and more industry-friendly processes, the polymerizations were conducted in glass jars with screw lids. The possibility of recycling the reaction solution was also explored. We believe his thorough study to be an important step towards industrializing the 'grafting-from' concept, and the results herein can most likely be extended to other surfaces and monomers. (C) 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.