Advances in Environmental Biology, 9(13) Special 2015, Pages: 53-57 AENSI Journals Advances in Environmental Biology ISSN-1995-0756 EISSN-1998-1066 Journal home page: http://www.aensiweb.com/AEB/ Corresponding Author: Nor Azillah Fatimah Othman. Address: Radiation Processing Technology Division, Malaysian Nuclear Agency, Bangi 43000 Kajang Selangor, Malaysia. Tel+603-89112000; E-mail: azillah@nm.gov.my Preparation of a Novel 1-Vinylimidazole/2-Hydroxyethyl Methacrylate Grafted Polyethylene Terephthalate/Kenaf Adsorbent via Radiation-induced Graft Copolymerization 1 Nur Syahirah Ahmad Sobri, 2,3 Nor Azillah Fatimah Othman, 2 Wan Nur Shahida Wan Jusoh, 1 Mohd Lias Kamal, 3 Tuan Amran Tuan Abdullah 1 Department of Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Applied Sciences, University Teknologi Mara Perlis, Malaysia. 2 Radiation Processing Technology Division, Malaysian Nuclear Agency, Bangi 43000 Kajang Selangor, Malaysia. 3 Centre of Hydrogen Energy, Institute of Future Energy, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 UTM Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia. ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Article history: Received 12 March 2015 Accepted 28 April 2015 Available online 6 June 2015 Keywords: hydroxyl linker, radiation-induced grafting, copolymer, synthesis, PET/kenaf Background: 1-Vinylimidazole (VIM) / 2-Hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) were synthesized using radical-initiated copolymerization using benzoyl peroxide as an initiator in toluene at 60°C for 5 hours. Composition of copolymer for different monomers feed were determined quantitatively by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) through characteristic absorption bands (660 cm -1 for VIM and 1729cm -1 for HEMA). The pre-synthesized copolymer was anchored onto polyethylene terephthalate (PET)/kenaf surface by hydroxyl groups linker via radiation-induced grafting. Objectives: To develop a novel and simple way to prepare functionalized adsorbent where thin layer of polymer can be directly transferred to the substrate, and therefore reduces chemical waste and save time. Results: Ratio 50:50 was found to be the best monomer feed ratio and 20kGy of absorbed radiation dose produced the highest percentage of grafting (%) with the average of 20.1%. Conclusion: A novel yet simple radiation-induced grafting-to method was demonstrated to prepare thin polymeric layer on PET/kenaf substrate using thermal annealing. The results have proven that the combination of radiation and thermal annealing can be used to graft polymers. © 2015 AENSI Publisher All rights reserved. To Cite This Article: Nur Syahirah Ahmad Sobri, Nor Azillah Fatimah Othman, Wan Nur Shahida Wan Jusoh, Mohd Lias Kamal, Tuan Amran Tuan Abdullah., Preparation of a Novel 1-Vinylimidazole/2-Hydroxyethyl Methacrylate Grafted Polyethylene Terephthalate/Kenaf Adsorbent via Radiation-induced Graft Copolymerization. Adv. Environ. Biol., 9(13), 53-57, 2015 INTRODUCTION Radiation grafting technique followed by chemical functionalization has been the most popular method used by researchers for polymer modification[1]. However, due to environmental concern, a more effective technique to develop functional grafted polymer is needed. Therefore, this research proposes a novel and simple technique of the grafting-to method for polymer modification where the polymer is pre-synthesized first so that the desired metal binder group can be obtained prior to grafting. This enables only one step process, thus provide economical way to synthesis functional polymer. Unlike the grafting-from method which uses large amount of starting materials because the sample must totally immersed in the solution, the grafting-to method generates less chemical since a thin layer of polymer can be directly transferred to the substrate before the grafting step[2]. The most suitable application for this method is the preparation of adsorbent for heavy metal adsorption from wastewater [3]. In this study, copolymer of VIM/HEMA was used to graft on PET/kenaf surfaces. The copolymer was characterized using FTIR and surface morphology was examined using SEM. Experimental: 1. Materials: Needle-threaded PET/kenaf mat with composition of 50 wt% kenaf and 50 wt% PET was used as the trunk material. The PET/kenaf mat was purchased from KEFI (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. For the synthesis of copolymers, 1-vinylimidazole (VIM) with 99% purity was from Aldrich Chemistry, 97% 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) and benzoyl peroxide as initiator were from Acros Organics. A standard analytical grade of toluene as