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Mechanically stable membranes of polyacrylic acid‐grafted chitosan‐functionalized carbon nanotubes with remarkable water storage capacity in sandy soils
Author(s) -
Alsohaimi Ibrahim,
Hafez Inas H.,
Berber Mohamed R.
Publication year - 2021
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.49915
Subject(s) - polyacrylic acid , membrane , chitosan , chemical engineering , materials science , carbon nanotube , polymer , swelling , acrylic acid , polymer chemistry , chemistry , nanotechnology , composite material , biochemistry , monomer , engineering
Polyacrylic acid (PAA) is one of the most exciting hydrophilic polymers for water control and conservation; however, it suffers from poor mechanical properties during the agricultural applications. For that purpose a series of PAA‐based multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) membranes have synthesized via a grafting process of MWCNTs using chitosan (CS) polymer as a binder. The fabricated membranes have spectroscopically characterized by different techniques to confirm the composite structure. The MWCNTs content into the PAA membranes has played a pronounced effect on water absorptivity, swelling behavior, and mechanical properties. PAA membrane has showed a fourfold increase in yield‐stress by the addition of 3 wt% PAA/CS/MWCNTs, while preserving a 91% of water absorptivity of PAA membrane. The soil applications of the PAA/CS/MWCNTs membranes have showed remarkable improvements in soil moisture content compared to the PAA membrane. This study provides a promising pathway for future field applications, especially in arid lands.