the graft copolymerization of 4-vinylpyridine (4-vp) onto partially carboxymethylated cotton (pcmc), having different carboxymethyl contents, was investigated. under similar reaction conditions, both the graft yield and ceric ion consumption increased by increasing the degree of substitution of carboxymethyl groups of pcmc up to a value of 0.11, beyond which grafting and ce(iv) consumption decreased. proof for grafting onto pcmc was provided through ir analysis. the ceric salt-initiated polymerization of 4-vp in the absence of pcmc was also studied. three series of homopolymerization reactions of 4-vp directly initiated by ceric ammonium nitrate were carried out with varying reaction times. each series was run at a different nitric acid concentration. both conversion and ceric ion consumption, as well as molecular weight, increased with reaction time. increasing the nitric acid concentration increased both conversion and ceric ion consumption while the molecular weight decreased. (author abstract) 32 refs