Graft copolymers

Abstract

The preparation of graft copolymers is a domain of polymer chemistry that has received considerable interest. Grafting of vinyl monomers to natural and synthetic polymers by means of chemical or radiation-initiated polymerization has been suggested as a potentially good means of altering the properties of the base polymer. Graft polymerization is different from random or block copolymerization in that it leaves the main polymeric backbone essentially intact. A graft copolymer may combine some of the characteristic properties of each polymer or have properties entirely different from either of the components. Hence such products made of selected polymer combinations can have highly specific properties tailor-made for a particular application.