AbstractAcrylic acid (AA)/glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) mixtures were bulk polymerized in the presence of cellulose in order to prepare cellulose/GMA/AA cation exchange composites using sodium persulfate as an oxidant, alone or in conjunction with sodium sulfite, sodium thiosulfate, sodium metabisulfite or glucose as a reductant. The presence of the reductant has the effect of shortening the polymerization time, expressed as the solidification time (ST), with little improvement in the polymerization extent, expressed as percentage total conversion (%TC), as well as the percentage yield and the carboxyl content of the crude and the purified composites. Sodium sulfite was selected as the the reductant that can achieve best polymerization. The effect of the concentrations of “sodium persulfate/sodium sulfite, redox system, acrylic acid and glycidyl methacrylate” and temperature on the formation of the composite were investigated. Four cation exchange composites were prepared and characterized by investigating their potentiometric titration, water solubility and swellability as well as durabil