Methyl methacrylate(MMA) and vinyl acetate(VAc) were grafted onto corn starch with manganic pyrophosphate{[Mn(H 2P 2O 7) 3] 3-} as the initiator and water as the reaction medium. The influences of reaction conditions, including pH value, initiator concentration, monomer concentration and its composition, on percent grafting and grafting efficiency were investigated. The graft copolymer was characterized by means of IR spectroscopy, scanning electron micrograph(SEM) and 1H NMR spectroscopy. The biodegradation experiment showed that the degradation of corn starch-g-poly(MMA-co-VAc) was mainly from starch. However, after poly VAc in the side chain was transformed into poly vinyl alcohol(PVA), both starch and the grafted side chain could be degraded completely.
