Effect of stirring on cellulose graft copolymerization. III. Acrylic and methacrylic monomers

Acrylate and methacrylate monomers were grafted onto dissolving pulp by the xanthate process. All the nine monomers tested showed a well-defined dependence of conversion on stirring speed. Total conversion and conversion to copolymer vs. agitator speed curves for each monomer were very similar in shape, but they varied widely from monomer to monomer. For the homologous series acrylate and methacrylate esters, optimum stirring speed was found to increase with increasing the size of the alkyl group. The breadth of the maximum also depended on the type of monomer. Monomers partially soluble in water forming water-insoluble polymers were found to be the most reactive.