Microstructure and swelling properties of a poly(acrylamide-co-acrylicacid)- grafted watermelon shell powder, cucumber shell powder-bentonite or zeolite

Abstract

In this paper, five superabsorbent polymers prepared by dispersing watermelon shell powder (WSP) and cucumber shell powder (CSP), mixture bentonite and WSP, mixture bentonite and CSP, zeolite (Z) bentonite (B), into poly(acrylamide-co-acrylic acid) (P) backbone in an aqueous medium through a chemical cross-linking method named as P-WSP-CSP، P-WSP-B، P-CSP-B، P-Z، P-B have been investigated. Polymeric nanocomposites have been synthesized through chemical cross-linking by polymerization technique using N,N-methylenebis acrylamide as a cross-linker and potassium persulfate as an initiator in a simple aqueous environmental conditions. These superabsorbent polymeric nanocomposites were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared and field emission-scanning electron microscope measurements. The water absorption and desorption of the superabsorbent polymer nanocomposites have also been studied. Our findings show that very high water absorption and lower drying rate of P-CSP-B are attributed to higher porous surfaces observed in FE-SEM images. The results show the superabsorbent polymers based on CSP represent very high water absorbency capacity and water retention ability that make them suitable for technology applications.

Keywords

• superabsorbent
• nanocomposite
• chemical cross-linking method
• structural and surface properties
• water absorption and retention