Facile Access to <i>Gleditsia microphylla</i> Galactomannan Hydrogel with Rapid Self-Repair Capacity and Multicyclic Water-Retaining Performance of Sandy Soil
Chuanjie Liu,
Meng Tang,
Fenglun Zhang,
Fuhou Lei,
Pengfei Li,
Kun Wang,
Hongbo Zeng,
Jianxin Jiang
Affiliations
Chuanjie Liu
Engineering Research Center of Forestry Biomass Materials and Bioenergy, Ministry of Education, East China Woody Fragrance and Flavor Engineering Research Center of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
Meng Tang
Engineering Research Center of Forestry Biomass Materials and Bioenergy, Ministry of Education, East China Woody Fragrance and Flavor Engineering Research Center of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
Fenglun Zhang
Nanjing Institute for the Comprehensive Utilization of Wild Plants, Nanjing 211111, China
Fuhou Lei
Guangxi Key Laboratory of Chemistry and Engineering of Forest Products, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Guangxi University for Nationalities, Nanning 530006, China
Pengfei Li
Guangxi Key Laboratory of Chemistry and Engineering of Forest Products, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Guangxi University for Nationalities, Nanning 530006, China
Kun Wang
Engineering Research Center of Forestry Biomass Materials and Bioenergy, Ministry of Education, East China Woody Fragrance and Flavor Engineering Research Center of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
Hongbo Zeng
Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2V4, Canada
Jianxin Jiang
Engineering Research Center of Forestry Biomass Materials and Bioenergy, Ministry of Education, East China Woody Fragrance and Flavor Engineering Research Center of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
Sandy soil has poor water-holding performance, making it difficult for plants to survive, which worsens the deterioration of the ecological environment. Therefore, borax cross-linked Gleditsia microphylla galactomannan hydrogel (GMGH) was prepared, and its practicability as a water-retaining agent was analyzed. GMGH exhibited fast self-healing performance (150 s, ≈100%) and a high swelling index (88.70 g/g in pH 9). The feasibility of improving the water absorption and retention properties of sandy soil was explored by mixing different proportions (0.1, 0.3, 0.5 wt % sandy soil) of GMGH and sandy soil. The results showed that sandy soil had a more porous structure after adding 0.5 wt % GMGH, and its water absorption index increased from 15.68 to 38.12%. In an artificial climate box, the water-holding time of the sandy soil was extended from 3 to 23.5 days, and the cycles of water absorption and retention were more than 10 times. Therefore, GMGH has broad application prospects as a potential water-retaining agent for desertification control.
