N ‐Succinimidyl Acrylate as a Reactive Handle for the Controlled Grafting of Acrylates and Styrene Onto Chitosan for a Bio‐Based TPE

ABSTRACT This work reports the synthesis of graft copolymers of Chitosan (Cs) using the “grafting to” approach. ARGET‐ATRP has been utilized first to prepare copolymers of N ‐succinimidyl acrylate (NSA) with methyl methacrylate (MMA), butyl acrylate (BA), and styrene (Sty). These copolymers had a narrow molecular weight distribution (PDI < 1.5), as determined by the GPC analysis. The synthesized copolymers were then covalently linked to the Cs through the amine functional groups present in it. The prepared Cs grafted copolymers were analyzed using various analytical techniques. The thermal stability of these grafted copolymers was found to be enhanced upon grafting as compared to pristine Cs. In contrast, the Cs grafted copolymers showed better elastomeric properties than pristine Cs. The highest elongation at break (43%) was observed for Cs that was grafted with the copolymer of NSA and BA. The prepared graft copolymers also demonstrated hydrophobic characteristics, which were reflected in their contact angles that exceeded 110° in one case. The evaluated properties revealed that the Cs grafted copolymers behave similarly to thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) and may have potential use in packing industries.