THERMAL-DECOMPOSITION OF CELLULOSE/SYNTHETIC POLYMER BLENDS CONTAINING GRAFTED PRODUCTS .1. CELLULOSE/POLY(METHYL METHACRYLATE) BLENDS

The homogeneous grafting of methyl methacrylate onto cellulose was carried out in a dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO)/paraformaldehyde solvent system. The grafted products were added to cellulose/poly-(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) blends as compatibilizers. The thermal decomposition behavior of the blends was investigated. The thermal stability of the blends with higher grafted product content was lower by more than 100-degrees-C than that of the blends without grafted product. The values of accessibility for the former blends were larger than those of the latter and a cellulose sample cast from a DMSO solution. The microphase-separated structures of the former blends were finer than those of the latter. Dynamic mechanical measurements and differential scanning calorimetry were performed to estimate the glass transition temperatures (T(g)) of the blends. The variation in T(g) was smaller than that in characteristic temperatures determined by the thermal decomposition measurement. The difference in thermal decomposition behavior was correlated to that in compatibility. Thermal decomposition measurements were effective for estimating the compatibility in cellulose/PMMA blends containing grafted products.