Study on the effect of solvents on grafting the copolymerization of ethyl acrylate and methyl methacrylate onto chicken feather keratin

Abstract

In this research, two ionic liquids, namely 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([BMIM]Cl) and 1-butyl-2,3- dimethylimidazolium chloride ([BDIM]Cl) have been used as solvents for grafting the copolymerization of monomers onto chicken feather keratin in order to develop thermoplastic. The grafting efficiency of monomer ethyl acrylate in the ionic liquids [BMIM]Cl and [BDIM]Cl have been 38% and 60% respectively. In contrast, in case of monomer methyl methacrylate, these figures have been 62% for [BMIM]Cl and 30% for [BDIM]Cl. Moreover, the thermal behavior of grafted keratin has been analysed by using thermogravimetry and differential scanning calorimetry. All material samples are thermoplastic. This indicates that both the ionic liquids [BMIM]Cl and [BDIM]Cl can be used as solvents for developing thermoplastic from chicken feathers.