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Utilization of starch and montmorrilonite for the preparation of superabsorbent nanocomposite
Author(s) -
Zhou Ming,
Zhao Jinzhou,
Zhou Lizhi
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.33519
Subject(s) - starch , superabsorbent polymer , nanocomposite , thermogravimetric analysis , copolymer , materials science , acrylic acid , monomer , thermal stability , acrylamide , polymer chemistry , exfoliation joint , aqueous solution , chemical engineering , absorption of water , nuclear chemistry , polymer , chemistry , organic chemistry , composite material , graphene , nanotechnology , engineering
Starch and montmorrilonite (MMT) were used as raw materials for synthesizing starch‐ graft ‐poly[acrylamide (AM)–acrylic acid (AA)]/MMT superabsorbent nanocomposite by graft and intercalation copolymerization reaction of starch, AM, and AA in the presence of organic MMT micropowder in aqueous solution. Major factors affecting water absorbency such as weight ratio of monomers to starch, weight ratio of AM to AA, neutralization degree of AA, amount of crosslinker, initiator, and MMT were investigated. The superabsorbent nanocomposite synthesized under optimal synthesis conditions exhibits absorption of 1120 g H 2 O/g sample and 128 g H 2 O/g sample in deionized water and in 0.9 wt % NaCl solution, respectively. IR spectra showed that the graft copolymerization between OH groups on MMT and monomers took place during the reaction, and that crystal interlayer was pulled open in the superabsorbent nanocomposite. X‐ray diffraction analysis showed that the crystal interlayer of MMT was pulled open to 2.73 nm, and thus formed nanometer exfoliation composite material. Thermogravimetric analysis showed that starch‐ graft ‐poly (AM–AA) superabsorbent nanocomposite (8 wt % MMT) has good thermal stability. This superabsorbent nanocomposite with excellent water absorbency and water retention, being biodegradable in nature, economical and environment friendly, could be especially useful in industry, agricultural, and horticultural applications. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011