Modification of cellulose/chitin mix fibers with <i>N</i>‐isopropylacrylamide and poly(<i>N</i>‐isopropylacrylamide) under cold plasma conditions

Abstract

Abstract A two‐step grafting procedure was applied to cellulose/chitin (CC) mix fibers, namely: activation under the action of cold plasma discharges, followed by reaction with N ‐isopropylacrylamide (NIPAAm) and poly( N ‐isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) to obtain fibers with responsiveness to external stimuli. The graft samples were characterized using attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X‐ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy‐dispersive X‐ray microanalysis and antimicrobial testing. All obtained results confirm the morphological and structural changes after plasma treatment which determine the modification of cellulose fiber properties. It was estimated from XPS data that the degrees of modification/grafting were about 23% for CC/NIPAAm and 13% for CC/PNIPAAm. Such treatment could be transferred to practical technologies, particularly in textile applications and special applications in the medical field. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry