Chemical Modification of Poly(Vinyl Alcohol) in Water

Partial chemical modification of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) was performed through tosylation followed by azidation. Amine functional PVA was also prepared by grafting propargylamine using click chemistry reaction. Through this approach, a tosyl group (a good leaving group), azide group (a group used in click chemistry) and amine group (a group used for amidation) were attached to PVA polymer chains. The three chemical modifications were performed in water. FTIR and XPS analysis confirmed the chemical modification after each step. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was used to study the thermal stability of the modified PVA.