Simple Method for Grafting of Glycidyl Methacrylate onto Nylon-6 Nonwoven Fabrics for Ion Exchange Applications

In this work an affective and generally applicable method for grafting of glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) onto Nylon-6 nonwoven fabrics for ion exchange applications has been developed. The method consists of the creation of dimethylalkylbenzyl ammonoium chloride (DMABAC) in alkaline medium in Nylon-6 textile fabrics followed by treatment the fabrics in a solution containing K2S2O8 at room temperature, followed by thoroughly washing with cold water and drying at room temperature. The so-obtained Nylon-6 fabrics were introduced in an aqueous solution of GMA, and copper sulphate. Grafting of GMA was accomplished under required temperature and duration with high rate and almost without homopolymer formation. Factors affecting the yield of grafted polyglycidyl methacrylate (PGMA) were studied. The overall activation energy of the graft copolymrization reaction was found to be 66.7 KJ. mol-1. Characterization of grafted Nylon-6 nonwoven fabrics was carried out through Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and Fourier Transform Infrared spectra (FTIR). The availability of aminated Nylon-6 nonwoven fabrics grafted with PGMA as polymer adsorbent for removal Cu+2, Pb+2, Cr+6, and Ag+1 ions from its solutions was investigated. The influence of various adsorption parameters on the degree of extraction (R %) and adsorption capacity (SC mg/g) was studied.