Structural aspects and nature of swelling medium as equilibrium swelling determinants of acrylamide and cellulosic‐based smart hydrogels

Abstract

Hydroxypropylcellulose (HPC)-based interpenetrating networks (IPN) with acrylamide (AAm) were synthesized in aqueous medium by simultaneous ␥-ray initiation in the presence of N, N-methylenebisacrylamide (N,N-MBAAm). The effect of the synthetic reaction conditions was evaluated for optimum network yield and networks of cellulose and some of its derivatives were obtained with AAm by using these conditions. FTIR, elemental analysis, and scanning electron micrography (SEM) for various structural aspects have characterized networks. Apart from kinetics of IPN formation, this article discusses swelling response of these novel hydrogels in different swelling media. Swelling behavior was studied as a function of synthetic reaction conditions, structure of cellulosics used, and nature of swelling medium (water, 0.5N NaOH, 0.5N HCl, and 5% NaCl). Equilibrium swelling was observed to depend on both structural and environmental factors.

“Smart” Materials Based on Cellulose: A Review of the Preparations, Properties, and Applications

“…HPC was firstly grafted with AA by esterification, then PAA or poly(L-glutamic acid–hydroxyethyl methacrylate) was grafted from HPC through free-radical polymerization initiated by APS ( Figure 6 ) [ 32 , 33 ]. HPC-based interpenetrating networks with polyacrylamide were synthesized in aqueous medium by simultaneous γ-rays initiation in the presence of MBA by Chauhan and Mahajan [ 52 ]. HPC was firstly esterified by 2-bromoisobutyryl bromide (BriB), and then Poly( N , N -dimethyl aminoethyl methacrylate) (PDMAEMA) [ 53 ] and poly(4-vinyl pyridine) (P4VP) [ 54 ] were grafted from HPC backbones via atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) in homogeneous conditions ( Figure 7 ), and the polymers were both thermo- and pH-responsive.…”

Synthesis of carboxymethylcellulose/starch superabsorbent hydrogels by gamma-irradiation

“…Carboxymethylcellulose-based hydrogels are prepared from aqueous solutions with several crosslinking methods. Crosslinking agents like polycarboxylic acids [ 13 ], epichlorohydrin [ 14 ] and N , N′ -methylene-bisacrylamide (MBA) [ 15 ] are commonly used, but the gelation can also be achieved with multivalent cations like Fe 3+ as well [ 16 ]. For the initiation of the crosslinking reaction in pure CMC high energy irradiation (both electron beam and gamma irradiation) is frequently applied [ 17 ].…”

Superabsorbent Polymers: From long-established, microplastics generating systems, to sustainable, biodegradable and future proof alternatives

“…5 . Thus far, MBA is the most widely adopted cross-linking agent for the production of SAPs because of its high reactivity [114][115][116][117] with vinyl groups and low toxicity after cross-linking [ 118 , 119 ]. For vinyl-monomers-based SAPs, such as poly(acrylic acid) and poly(acrylamide), the reactivity ratio of cross-linkers and the corresponding vinyl monomers plays an important role in determining the network structure of SAPs.…”