Peroxide treatment of soy protein fibers followed by grafting of poly(methyl acrylate) and copolymers

The objective of the present study is to elucidate the effect of peroxide treatment and graft copolymerization on water absorption behavior of soy protein fibers in order to make them suitable as a reinforcing material. Grafting of poly(methyl acrylate) and copolymers was successfully carried out on peroxide-treated soy protein fibers. Different reaction parameters were optimized in order to get maximum percentage grafting. The grafted fibers were evaluated for water absorption behavior in deionized water. Maximum grafting has been found at 0.219 mol/l of methyl acrylate, 0.0096:0.145 mol/l of FAS:H₂O₂, 323 K, and 90 minutes. Graft copolymerization results in remarkable changes in morphology of soy protein fibers. The FT-IR spectrum confirms the graft copolymerization of methyl acrylate and binary monomer mixture onto soy protein fibers. Grafted soy protein fibers showed minimum water absorption as compared to original and peroxide-treated soy protein fibers because active sites were blocked due to grafting of poly(methyl acrylate) and other copolymers.