Preparation of chelating fiber by repeated use of monomer solution in radiation-induced graft polymerization

Katakai, Akio; Tamada, Masao; Nagamoto, Hiroyuki*; Miyagawa, Hiroshi*

A chelating fiber containing an amidoxime group as a chelate-forming group was prepared by radiation-induced cograft polymerization of acrylonitrile and methacrylic acid and subsequent conversion of the produced cyano group into the amidoxime group. The effect of repeated use of monomers for radiation-induced graft copolymerization on the composition of the graft chain and its adsorption capacity for metal ions was determined. The degree of cografting decreased by as low as 10% at the fourth cycle of cografting, compared with an initial degree of cografting of 170%, because the amount of homopolymer formed in cografting was negligibly small at 0.15 g/L of the monomer solution. The repeated use of monomers did not affect the amidoxime group density and the adsorption capacities of zinc and cadmium ions, resulting in the cost reduction of the preparation of the chelating fiber.