Synthesis and Characterization of Konjac Glucomannan-Graft-Polyacrylamide via γ-Irradiation

The synthesis of konjac glucomannan-graft-polyacrylamide (KGM-g-PAM) wascarried out at 25°C by γ-irradiation under a N2 atmosphere. The effects of absorbedradiation dosage and monomer concentration on grafting yield and water absorbency werestudied. The grafted copolymers were characterized using Fourier Transform Infrared(FTIR) spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), x-ray diffraction (XRD),thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and gel permeation chromatography (GPC). Thegrafting yield was observed to increase with increasing absorbed dosage and monomerconcentration. Compared with the original KGM, the grafted copolymers exhibited betterthermal stability and water absorbency. The results suggest that γ-irradiation is convenientand efficient for inducing graft copolymerization of KGM and acrylamide (AM).