Abstract:To improve the application performance of xanthan gum, xanthan gum-g-N-vinylpyrrolidone graft copolymer (XG-g-NVP) was prepared by60Coγ-irradiation, then to study the structural characterization of copolymers and the effects of synthesis conditions on grafting ratio and monomer utilization. The results showed that the best grafting ratio was up to 543.3% and the monomer utilization reached 67.9% when radiation absorbed dose is 10 kGy, the concentration of xanthan gum is 12g·L-1, the mass ratio of NVP/XG was 8:1, and the mass of 4-methoxyphenol polymerization inhibitor is 0.01% of the amount of NVP. IR figure showed that the grafting reaction occurred in NVP vinyl part and SEM showed that the structure of copolymer became grain-like from flake-like. The molecular structure and morphology were analyzed and confirmed by IR and ESM. Compared to the xanthan gum, the high temperature resistance and shear resistance of XG-g-NVP were improved, and the viscosity remains constant at high temperature and high shear force. Therefore, the structure and thermal stability of xanthan gum were improved after modification. The xanthan molecular had more excellent performance through the study of grafting modification, and laid the theoretical basis for further application of modification xanthan gum.