Volume: 1, 2022
1st International PhD Student’s Conference at the University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Poland: ENVIRONMENT – PLANT – ANIMAL – PRODUCT
Abstract number: T030
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24326/ICDSUPL1.T030
Published online: 26 April 2022
ICDSUPL, 1, T030 (2022)
Acrylic hydrogels physically cross-linked by montmorillonite
Olena Siryk1*, Katarzyna Szewczuk-Karpisz2, Yuriy Samchenko1 , Olena Goncharuk1, Agnieszka Tomczyk2 and Tetiana Poltoratska1
1 Ovcharenko Institute of Biocolloidal Chemistry National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Akademika Vernadskogo Blvd. 42, 03680, Kyiv, Ukraine
2 Institute of Agrophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Doświadczalna 4, 20-290 Lublin, Poland
* Corresponding author: olena.siryk38@gmail.com
Abstract
Hydrogels – 3D-crosslinked hydrophilic polymers – belong to the most modern additives to soils. They are used to increase water retention and prolong the release of mineral fertilizers and pesticides. Hydrogels could be crosslinked via chemical (covalent bonds) and physical (van der Waals forces, hydrogen, and ionic bonds) interactions. Clays can be used as crosslinkers due to their layered structure: monomers can penetrate between clays layers, increase the interplanar distance and connect polymer chains. After polymerization both intercalated and exfoliated nanocomposites can be obtained. Clays can also improve the mechanical properties and thermostability of hydrogels. The research aimed to determine the effects of the structure of monomer and clay, as well as their ratio on the resulted hydrogel structure formation and the swelling and sorption properties of composites. Three composites with montmorillonite (MMT) were synthesized by radical polymerization of monomers from aqueous solutions: (i) homopolyacrylamide (PAM) hydrogel; (ii) PAM copolymers with acrylonitrile; (iii) PAM with acrylic acid. Analysis of the FTIR spectra of composite hydrogels showed that the band attributed to Si-O bonds occurring at 990 cm-1 for montmorillonite was shifted to 1020 cm-1 for composites which confirmed the formation of intercalated structure. The swelling capacity is a key characteristic of hydrogels, which can also influence their fertilizer release behaviors. Water uptake was maximal for composites with 5-15 % wt. MMT. Further increasing clay content in hydrogel leads to a higher crosslinking degree and decreased swelling ability. The highest absorption (up to 140 g/g) was obtained for acrylic acid copolymer due to the presence of carboxylic groups and the lowest (20 g/g) one for acrylonitrile copolymer owing to its hydrophobic properties. All synthesized MMT-hydrogel composites exhibited higher swelling degrees than chemically-crosslinked analogs (up to 45 g/g for acrylic acid copolymer cross-linked with N,N’-methylenebisacrylamide).
How to cite
O. Siryk, K. Szewczuk-Karpisz, Y. Samchenko, O. Goncharuk, A. Tomczyk, T. Poltoratska, 2022. Acrylic hydrogels physically cross-linked by montmorillonite. In: 1st International PhD Student’s Conference at the University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Poland: Environment – Plant – Animal – Product. https://doi.org/10.24326/ICDSUPL1/T030