Preparation of High-Performance Composite Hydrogel Reinforced by Hydrophilic Modified Waste Rubber Powder
Rui Wu,
Zuming Jiang,
Zhenxing Cao,
Zhaoyang Yuan,
Yao Zhang,
Lanlei Guo,
Fuqing Yuan,
Jinrong Wu,
Jing Zheng
Affiliations
Rui Wu
State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, College of Polymer Science and Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China
Zuming Jiang
Exploration and Development Research Institute, Shengli Oilfield Company, SINOPEC, Dongying 257015, China
Zhenxing Cao
State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, College of Polymer Science and Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China
Zhaoyang Yuan
State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, College of Polymer Science and Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China
Yao Zhang
Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Naturel Rubber Processing, Agricultural Products Processing Research Institute of Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Zhanjiang 524001, China
Lanlei Guo
Exploration and Development Research Institute, Shengli Oilfield Company, SINOPEC, Dongying 257015, China
Fuqing Yuan
Exploration and Development Research Institute, Shengli Oilfield Company, SINOPEC, Dongying 257015, China
Jinrong Wu
State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, College of Polymer Science and Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China
Jing Zheng
State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, College of Polymer Science and Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China
In order to reduce the environmental pollution caused by waste rubber and to realize the recycling of resources, we proposed a facile method for the hydrophilic modification of waste rubber powder (HRP) and used it to reinforce a composite hydrogel. In the presence of toluene, dibenzoyl peroxide (BPO) diffused into the waste rubber powder. After the solvent was removed, BPO was adsorbed in the rubber powder, which was used to initiate the grafting polymerization of the acrylamide monomer on the rubber–water interface. As a result, the polyacrylamide (PAM) molecular chains were grafted onto the surface of the rubber powder to realize hydrophilic modification. The success of the grafting modification was confirmed by FTIR, contact angle testing, and thermogravimetric analysis. The hydrophilic modified waste rubber powder was used to reinforce the PAM hydrogel. Mechanical tests showed that the tensile strength and elongation at the break of the composite hydrogel reached 0.46 MPa and 1809%, respectively, which was much higher than those of pure PAM hydrogel. Such a phenomenon indicates that the waste rubber particles had a strengthening effect.
