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Modification in physico‐chemical properties of pineapple leaf fiber (PALF) using NaOH treatment and graft copolymerization technique was investigated in the present study. The free radical graft copolymerization was carried out in presence of redox initiators of ferrous ammonium sulfate (FAS) and potassium persulfate (KPS), using monomers methyl methacrylate (MMA) and butyl acrylate (BA) in water medium. The structural analysis by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy images confirmed the successful incorporation of acrylate monomers onto cellulose backbone. The optimum graft percentage (64.3%) was determined at molar concentration ratio of initiators (KPS:FAS) (1:0.5) and acrylate monomers (MMA:BA) (2:1). The poly(acrylates‐g‐PALF) exhibits good thermal stability than ungrafted and treated fiber. Presence of BA increases the grafting percentage up to 60.80% and exhibited inverse behavior on the mechanical properties as well as in crystallinity. It has been observed that specific stress of grafted fibers is lower to that of ungrafted fibers. In this study, the degradation of fibers under UV exposure and in soil environment was investigated and changes in surface morphology and mechanical strength of fibers were studied along with the comparison between fibers before and after degradation. POLYM. COMPOS., 40:1395–1403, 2019. © 2018 Society of Plastics Engineers

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