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Synthesis of Poly (Acrylamide-co-Acrylic Acid)

based Superabsorbent Hydrogels: Study of Network
Parameters and Swelling Behaviour
a a a a
Rajive Singh Tomar , Indu Gupta , Reena Singhal & A. K. Nagpal
a
Department of Plastic Technology , Harcourt Butler Technological Institute , Kanpur, India
Published online: 27 Aug 2010.

To cite this article: Rajive Singh Tomar , Indu Gupta , Reena Singhal & A. K. Nagpal (2007) Synthesis of Poly (Acrylamide-
co-Acrylic Acid) based Superabsorbent Hydrogels: Study of Network Parameters and Swelling Behaviour, Polymer-Plastics
Technology and Engineering, 46:5, 481-488, DOI: 10.1080/03602550701297095

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 Polymer-Plastics Technology and Engineering, 46: 481–488, 2007
Copyright # Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
ISSN: 0360-2559 print/1525-6111 online
DOI: 10.1080/03602550701297095
Synthesis of Poly (Acrylamide-co-Acrylic Acid) based
Superabsorbent Hydrogels: Study of Network Parameters
and Swelling Behaviour
Rajive Singh Tomar, Indu Gupta, Reena Singhal, and A. K. Nagpal
Department of Plastic Technology, Harcourt Butler Technological Institute, Kanpur, India
Downloaded by [Istanbul Universitesi Kutuphane ve Dok] at 21:45 20 December 2014
This article investigates the synthesis of superabsorbent hydrogels
(SAHs) based on acrylamide and acrylic acid by solution polymer-
ization in the presence of N,N0 -methylenebisacrylamide (NMBA) as
a cross-linker and potassium per sulphate as initiator. In this work
the acrylamide content was varied in a large range of 30–70% (mole
of total monomer) in feed, in order to study its effect on swelling
behavior. The results indicate that when acrylamide content present
in the hydrogels was increased from 17.23–35.85% (mole of the
total monomer); then equilibrium water absorbency also increased
from 276–573 (g water/g sample). But when acrylamide content
was further increased from 35.85–50.24%, then equilibrium water
absorbency abruptly decreased. The equilibrium water absorbency
of various copolymeric hydrogels was also investigated in different
concentration of saline solutions. The effect of SAHs on growth
of seeds of lentil was also studied. The hydrogels were also charac-
terized by fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), nuclear
magnetic resonance (NMR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM);
and network parameters such as average molecular weight between
cross-links (Mc) and cross-link density (q) were determined to
explain the swelling behavior.
Keywords Acrylamide; Acrylic acid; Cross-link density; Solution
polymerization; Superabsorbent hydrogels; Water
absorption capacity
1. INTRODUCTION
Superabsorbent hydrogels are cross-linked networks of
hydrophilic polymer, which are capable of absorbing 400
times approximately or more of its weight in deionized
water or 150–300 times its weight in irrigation water in
most of the soil[1]. These polymers generally contain groups
that are in equilibrium with their dissociated form in the
presence of water or carboxylic groups. The polymer coil
extend themselves and widen in consequence of the electro-
static repulsion of negative groups are also able to interact
through hydrogen bonding with additional quantities of
Address correspondence to A. K. Nagpal, Department of
Plastic Technology, Harcourt Butler Technological Institute,
Kanpur-208002, India. E-mail: akn_12@rediffmail.com
481
water. The presence of crosslinks in hydrogels allows
swelling of three dimensional network, and gel formation
without polymer dissolution[2]. These polymers have valu-
able applications in agriculture[3], medicine (40, water-
blocking tapes[5], and absorbent pads[6].
Superabsorbent hydrogels are commonly based on
acrylamide (AAm), Acrylic Acid (AAc) and various salts
of its acids. The monomers can be polymerized by solution
polymerization and inverse suspension polymerization[7–10].
Although both methods have their own importance, sol-
ution polymerization is economically more popular[9].
The polymerization is normally initiated by free radicals
in the aqueous phase using thermal initiators, redox initia-
tors and their combinations. The cross-linked PAAc has
emerged as an important absorbent, because AAc is cheap
and easy to polymerize to products of high molecular
weight. Li et al.[11] prepared novel superabsorbent poly-
mers based on acrylic acid, acrylamide, and inorganic clay
mineral-attapulgite through a solution polymerization to
improve water and saline absorbencies. They were used
in 0.2–1 mol ratio of the AAm and AAc to synthesize the
super absorbent polymer. The degree of neutralization of
AAc was 40%. Zhou et al.[12] have prepared a series of
novel superabsorbent copolymers based on Acrylamide
(AAm), sodium methallylsulfonate, sodium acrylate in
the presence of N,N0 -methylenebisacrylamide (NMBA)
as cross-linker and Potassium per sulphate (KPS)=N,N,
N0 ,N0 -tetramethylenediamine (TMEDA) as the redox
initiator. The ionic groups in the polymer network signifi-
cantly increase the equilibrium swelling. K. Kabiri et al.[13]
have synthesized fast swelling superabsorbent hydrogels by
partially neutralized acrylic acid in the presence of NMBA
as a cross-linker and ammonium persulphate=sodium bisul-
phate as redox pair initiator. They studied the effect of
initiator concentration on reaction kinetic parameters, i.e.
gelation time and temperature, maximum temperature of
the reaction, and the product density. Swelling behavior of
the porous superabsorbents, in both distilled water and
 482 R. S. TOMAR ET AL.

saline solutions, was also investigated in terms of different
initiator concentrations.
In the present investigation the authors report the
synthesis of poly (acrylamide-co-acrylic acid) [poly (AAm-
co-AAc)] based superabsorbent hydrogels having large
amount of AAm in the range of 30–70%, by solution polymer-
ization in the presence of N, N0 -methylenebisacrylamide as a
cross-linker and potassium persulphate as an initiator. Here
high ranges of acrylamide were selected because most of the
studies report acrylamide concentration in very low ranges.
The swelling behavior and water retention of the above hydro-
gels were studied in water and in soil. The effect of synthesized
superabsorbents on growth of seeds of lentil is reported. The
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of total monomer as a cross-linker and 0.5% mol of total
monomer as an initiator, respectively were taken for the
study. Sodium hydroxide (34.5%) solution was used to
neutralize AAc upto 4.5 pH[8].
2.3. Polymerization Procedure
AAm, partially neutralized AAc; NMBA and KPS were
dissolved in 60 ml distilled water. This reaction mixture was
taken in a wide mouth, round bottom flask fitted with a
mechanical stirrer. This flask was submerged in a thermo-
stat oil bath at 80
C; stirring was continued until the reac-
tion mixture became too viscous and gelled. The gel point
was taken to be the time at which bubbles no longer

network parameters such as average molecular weight
between cross-link (Mc) and cross-link density (q) were also
determined to explain the swelling behavior of hydrogels.
FT-IR Spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance
(NMR) characterized the copolymers. Scanning electron
microscopy (SEM) also examined the surface morphological
studies of poly (AAm-co-AAc).
escaped and stirrer stopped. The flask was then removed
from the bath and allowed to cool at room temperature.
The reaction product was removed and cut into small
pieces (2–5 mm), which were dried at 60
C to constant
weight. The dried product was powdered with a hammer-
type minigrinder and screened using a sieve. The particles
were stored in stoppered bottles.

2. EXPERIMENTAL
2.1. Materials
Acrylic acid (AAc), sodium chloride (NaCl) and acryla-
mide (AAm) were obtained from S.D. Fine Chem. Ltd,
Mumbai, India. N,N0 -methylenebisacrylamide (NMBA)
was supplied by BDH, England. Potassium persulphate
(KPS) was purchased from Romali, Mumbai, India. Sodium
Hydroxide (NaOH) was from Lab Chem. Industries, Delhi,
India. Distilled water was used as solvent for all experiments.
Water absorbency ‘Q’ðg H2 O=g sampleÞ ¼
2.2. Synthesis of Superabsorbent Polymer
The chemically cross-linked poly (AAm-co-AAc) based
superabsorbents were synthesized by solution poly-
merization. The poly (AAm-co-AAc) hydrogels were poly-
merized by taking the ratios AAm and AAc as; 70=30,
60=40, 55=45, 50=50, 45=55, 40=60, and 30=70; which are
designated by T1, T2, T3, T4, T5, T6, and T7, respectively
(as shown Table 1). NMBA and KPS equal to 0.024% mol.
2.4. Water Absorbency Measurement
A sample (25 mg) of the poly (AAm-co-AAc) hydrogel
was immersed in 500 ml distilled water (or saline solutions
of different concentration) at room temperature until equi-
librium was reached. Absorbency was determined by
weighing the swollen gel (the gel was allowed to drain on
a sieve for 15 min.) the water absorbency was calculated
using the following Eq. (1).
W  Wo
ð1Þ
Wo
where ‘W’ and ‘Wo’ are the weights of the water, swollen gel
and dry absorbents, respectively. Absorbency is expressed in
grams of water retained in the gel by a gram of dried gel.
2.5. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR)
The FTIR spectra of poly (AAm-co-AAc) hydrogels
were recorded with Perkin Elmer spectrophotometer using

TABLE 1
Various feed compositions used for the preparation of poly (AAm-co-AAc) hydrogels
Sample Monomer feed ratio Weight of Weight of Weight of Weight of Distilled
designation (AAm=AAc) AAm (g) AAc (g) NMBA (g) KPS (g) water (ml)
T1 70=30 19.88 8.3 0.0237 0.5406 60
T2 60=40 17.04 11.07 0.0237 0.5406 60
T3 55=45 15.62 12.46 0.0237 0.5406 60
T4 50=50 14.20 13.80 0.0237 0.5406 60
T5 45=55 12.78 15.23 0.0237 0.5406 60
T6 40=60 11.30 16.61 0.0237 0.5406 60
T7 30=70 8.52 20.16 0.0237 0.5406 60

In each sample, AA was neutralized upto 4.5 pH by sodium hydroxide (34.5% w=w) solution.
 SYNTHESIS OF SUPERABSORBENT HYDROGELS
solid pellet KBr after complete drying the sample in
vacuum at 60
C upto constant weight.
2.6. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Analysis
The solid state NMR spectrum of the hydrogels were
carried out at 7 KHz with Bruker NMR spectrometers
(DSX-300).
2.7. Elemental Analysis
Elemental analysis (C, H, and N) was performed on an
Elemental analyzers (Elemental Vario EL III Carlo Erba
1108).
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2.8. Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC)
DSC was carried out using a Perkin Elmer (Pyris Dia-
mond) differential scanning calorimeter under the nitrogen
atmosphere at a heating rate of 5
C=min up to 300
C.
2.9. Scanning Electron Microscopy
The surface morphology of various poly (AAm-
co-AAc) hydrogels was examined under scanning electron
microscope (SEM). Dried hydrogels were coated with a
thin layer of pure gold in S150 Sputter Coater, and imaged
in a SEM (LEO Electron Microscopy Ltd, England).
3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
3.1. FT-IR Spectra
The FT-IR spectra of various synthesized super absorb-
ent hydrogels were recorded and were found same for vari-
ous peaks corresponding to AAm and partially neutralized
AAc of hydrogels (Table 1). To understand the forming
and cross-linking of hydrogels obtained from AAm and
partially neutralized AAc monomers, an FT-IR spectrum
of poly (AAm-co-AAc) hydrogel (T3) is shown in Fig. 1.
In the FT-IR spectra, the peaks observed were at
3404.7 cm1, corresponding to the NH stretching of acry-
lamide unit. CH2 groups on the chain give absorption
at 1460 cm1. The absorbances 2934.6 cm1 are CH
stretching of acrylate unit. The peaks at 1721 cm1 are
FIG. 1. FT-IR spectrum of poly (AAm-co-AAc) hydrogel (T3) having
35.85% AAm content.
483
corresponding to the C=O of acrylate unit. The
absorbance at 1667 cm1 can be attributed to C=O group
of the acrylamide unit and absorbance at 1175 cm1
are corresponding to the COO stretching of acrylate
unit. The absorbances at 1551 cm1 are due to COONa
group.
3.2. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR)
13
C NMR spectroscopy is a very powerful tool for
polymer structure characterization. The spectra of poly
(AAm-co-AAc) hydrogel (T3) prepared by solution poly-
merization is shown in Fig. 2. which shows three resonance
peaks at 40, 47, and 184 ppm, respectively. Resonance
peaks at 40 ppm and 47 ppm were assigned to carbon from
CH2 and CH, respectively. Peaks at 184 ppm was
assigned to carbon from C=O group present in the poly
(AAm-co-AAc) hydrogel. The results support the observa-
tions resulting from the FT-IR spectrum of poly (AAm-co-
AAc) hydrogel (T3).
3.3. Elemental Analysis
The elemental analysis was performed to determine the
content of carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen in the poly
(AAm-co-AAc) copolymer gel having different composi-
tions. The proportion of each component was calculated
on the basis of nitrogen content present in the hydrogels[14].
Table 2 lists the value of C, H, and N; and AAm and AAc
units (mol %). From this data it is clear that when AAm
content was increased from 30–50% in feed; then after
polymerization and separation the concentration of AAm
copolymer (as determined by elemental analysis) increased
from 17.23–39.27% in the poly (AAm-co-AAc) hydrogels
prepared by solution polymerization. But when AAm con-
tent was 55% in feed, then AAm content in resulting copo-
lymer deceased slightly 35.85%. On further increment of
AAm from 55–70% in feed, the AAm content again
FIG. 2. DSC thermograms of the poly (AAm-co-AAc) hydrogels having
(a) 17.23%, (b) 27.55%, (c) 30.82%, (d) 35.85%, (e) 39.27%, (f) 40.25%,
(g) 50.24% AAm.
 484 R. S. TOMAR ET AL.

TABLE 2
Result of elemental analysis of poly (AAm-co-AAc) hydrogels prepared by varying acrylamide content
Composition (in feed) Elemental analysis (%) Composition (by elemental analysis)
Sample
designation % AAm % AAc C N H O % AAm % AAc
T1 70 30 40.01 9.84 6.19 43.96 50.24 49.74
T2 60 40 39.71 7.87 6.89 45.53 40.25 59.74
T3 55 45 37.45 7.39 6.13 47.79 35.85 62.19
T4 50 50 38.23 7.68 6.26 47.83 39.27 61.58
T5 45 55 36.89 6.02 6.32 50.77 30.82 69.17
T6 40 60 35.39 5.38 6.56 52.67 27.55 72.44
T7 30 70 33.64 3.36 6.45 56.55 17.23 82.75
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increased from 35.85–50.24% in the resulting copolymer.
The interesting changes in AAm content present in the
hydrogels were due to higher concentration of AAm, and
high total solid content taken in feed solution. Due to
higher amount of AAm content taken in feed solution
homopolymer of AAm, AAc was also formed and homo-
polymer of AAm was removed during purification of the
hydrogels.
3.4. DSC Analysis
The DSC thermograms of poly (AAm-co-AAc) hydro-
gels having different composition of AAm and AAc are
shown in Fig. 3. The glass transition temperature values
(Tg) of the hydrogels observed by DSC are given Table 3.
It was noted that the percentage of AAm content influ-
enced the Tg. As the cross-linking density increased, the
free volume of a material decreased and correspondingly
Tg increased. Glass transition temperature of hydrogels
increased as the acrylamide content increased in the hydro-
gels. DSC thermograms showed that Tg increased in the
range of 147–177
C with increase of the AAm contents
from 17.23–50.24% (mol of the total monomer) present
in the hydrogels. The main cause of such an increase in
‘Tg’ is probably the increased intermolecular interaction
of amide groups[15].
3.5. Network Studies
The average molar mass between cross-link ‘Mc’ is used
for characterization of cross-linked polymers. It is directly
related to cross-link density. Flory and Rehner laid out a
theory for calculation of Mc[16,17].
V1=3
s  Vs =2
Mc ¼ V1  d ð2Þ
lnð1  Vs Þ þ Vs þ vV2s
where V1 is the molar volume of the solvent (ml=mol), d is
the polymer density (g=ml), Vs is the volume fraction of
polymer in the swollen gel, and v is the Flory-Huggins
interaction parameter between solvent and polymer. The
density of various dried poly (AAm-co-AAc) hydrogels
were calculated according to Chen, J. et al.[18]. The molar
volume of water at 25
C is 18 cm3=mol and density of water
at this experiment temperature is 0.9907 gm=ml. Flory-
Huggins interaction parameter between solvent and poly-
mer were calculated according to Wei Xue et al.[19]. The
swelling ratio(s)[17] is equal to reverse of volume fraction

TABLE 3
Glass transition temperatures of poly (AAm-co-AAc)
hydrogels having varying the acrylamide
(%) of AAm content Glass transition temperature (Tg)
present in hydrogels obtained from DSC (
C)
17.23 147
27.55 149
30.82 156
35.85 158
39.27 162
40.25 165
FIG. 3. NMR spectrum of poly (AAm-co-AAc) hydrogel having
35.87% acrylamide prepared solution polymerization.
50.24 177
 SYNTHESIS OF SUPERABSORBENT HYDROGELS 485

TABLE 4
Network parameters of the poly (AAm-co-AAc) hydrogels having varying the acrylamide content
(%) AAm Equilibrium water Polymer Average molecular
present in absorbency (g water=g volume Swelling weight between Crosslink Mess size
hydrogels sample) fraction ‘Vs’ ratio U crosslinks ‘Mc’ density ‘q’ n (Å)
17.23 276 3.49  103 286 7.48  1010 9.56  1010 1.17  106
27.55 359 2.68  103 373 1.97  1011 3.63  1010 2.07  106
30.82 393 2.45  103 408 2.75  1011 2.60  1010 2.52  106
35.85 573 1.68  103 594 1.09  1012 6.58  1011 5.67  106
39.27 300 3.21  103 311 1.02  1011 7.03  1010 1.36  106
40.25 288 3.34  103 299 8.79  1010 8.12  1010 1.29  106
50.24 281 3.42  103 292 8.05  1010 8.86  1010 1.21  106
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of polymer in swollen gel ‘Vs’. The cross-linking ratio ‘q’ is
defined as the mole fraction of cross-linked units [20].
Mo
q¼
Mc
where Mo is the molar mass of the repeating unit and can
be calculated by following Eq. (4).
nAAm  MAAm þ nAAc  MAAc þ nCL  MCL
Mo ¼
nAAm þ nAAc þ nCL
where nAM, nAA, and nCL are mole number of AM, AA
and crosslinker. MAM, MAA, and MCL are the molecular
weight of the AM, AA and cross-linker, respectively.
Assuming isotropic swelling of the gel and using the flory
characteristic ratio, Cn, for calculation of the end-to-end
distance, the Mess size of a swollen polymeric network
can be calculated using Eq. (5) as shown earlier[21].
 
2Cn Mc 1=2 1=3
nðAo Þ ¼ ‘ Vs ð5Þ
Mo
where ‘ is the CC bond length (1.54 Å) and the value of
flory characteristic ratio ‘Cn’ is 6.32.
FIG. 4. Effect of swelling ratio on crosslink density of various poly
(AAm-co-AAc) hydrogels prepared by solution polymerization.
The network parameters were determined for poly
(AAm-co-AAc) hydrogels having varying acrylamide con-
tent and are shown in Table 4, which shows the value of
ð3Þ polymer volume fraction in swollen gel, swelling ratio,
average molecular weight between crosslink ‘Mc’, crosslink
density ‘q’ and mess size ‘n (Å)’. Crosslink density is one of
the most significant structural parameter for a family of
hydrogel, which influenced the swelling ratio[22]. It is clear
from Fig. 4 that when swelling ratio increased from 286 to
ð4Þ
594; then crosslink density of the poly (AAm-co-AAc)
copolymer also decreased from 9.56  1010 to
6.58  1010, but on decrement in swelling ratio from
573 to 286 then crosslink density of the copolymer
increased marginally from 6.58  1010 to 9.62  1010.
3.6. Effect of AAm Content of the Copolymers
The poly (AAm-co-AAc) hydrogels were synthesized
by varying the AAm content. The swelling behaviors of
poly (AAm-co-AAc) hydrogels are affected significantly
by changing the AAm contents in the hydrogels. Acryla-
mide being a hydrophilic monomer was expected to
enhance the hydrophilicity of the copolymer when used
in increasing concentration in the reaction mixture. An
increase in the AAm content of the copolymer, the average
molecular weight between two crosslinks is also
decreased[23]. It is well known that an increase of Mc is
accompanied by an increase in the swelling ratio[20]. In
order to demonstrate the effect of AAm content on equilib-
rium water absorption capacity (g water=g sample) of all
the hydrogels (T1 to T7), a plot (Fig. 5) between AAm con-
tent and equilibrium water absorption capacity was drawn.
When AAm content increased from 17.23–35.85% (mol of
total monomer) present in hydrogels, water absorbency
also increased from 276–573 g water=g sample. But, when
AAm content was 39.27% in the hydrogel, then water
absorbency significantly decreased (300 g water=g sample).
On further increment of AAm content from 39.27–50.24%,
water absorption capacity decreased continuously from
300–275 g water=g sample. The observed results may be
 486 R. S. TOMAR ET AL.

FIG. 5. Effect of AAm content of equilibrium water absorbancy of

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the various poly (AAm-co-AAc) hydrogels prepared by solution

polymerization.

attributed to the fact that with increasing AAm content the

number of hydrophilic PAAm chains increased substan-
tially. Therefore, due to denser network formation in the
hydrogel network as observed by Bajpai and Giri[24], the
penetration of water molecules into the gel became diffi-
cult, which brought about a reduction in the equilibrium
water absorption capacity of the hydrogels. The above fact
was verified by crosslink density of the hydrogels.
Crosslink density was increased from 6.58  1010 to
9.62  1010 with decreasing the water absorbency from
573–286 g water=g sample.

3.7. SEM Observations

SEM gives an idea of the microstructure of surface FIG. 6. (a) Scanning electron micrograph of poly (AAm-co-AAc)
(before or after swelling) hydrogel in order to explain the hydrogel having 35.85% acrylamide; (b) Scanning electron micrograph
variations observed from general trend in swelling beha- of poly (AAm-co-AAc) hydrogel having 60% acrylamide.
vior. Figure 6 shows the SEM of 50.24% and 35.85%
AAm containing hydrogel. The hydrogel containing Equilibrium water absorbency of the poly (AAm-co-AAc)
50.24% AAm shows some roughness and bead like forma- hydrogels increased from 34–239 g water=g sample with
tion appears in the SEM of the hydrogel (Fig. 6a). This decreasing the concentration from 0.9–0.009% saline
hydrogel (T3) shows lowest (276, g water=g sample) equilib-
rium water absorbency. While SEM (Fig. 6b) of hydrogel
containing 35.85% showed higher water absorbency
(573 g water=g sample), it was depicted in the form of a
sponge like structure and numerous circular pores of
approximately uniform size (2.34 mm). These observations
are in good agreement with our water absorbency observa-
tions and network parameters (Table 4).

3.8. Water Absorbency in a Saline Solution

For many applications, it is more important to know the
behaviors of superabsorbent hydrogels in physiological
solutions. Water absorbency in the 0.009, 0.09, and 0.9%
saline (NaCl) solutions is shown in Fig. 7. Equilibrium
water absorbency in 0.9% saline solution was less because FIG. 7. Effect of saline (NaCl) water of different concentrations on
its ionic strength is greater than that in the distilled water. equilibrium water absorbency of poly (AAm-co-AAc) hydrogels.
 SYNTHESIS OF SUPERABSORBENT HYDROGELS
solution for T1 hydrogel. For T2 hydrogel, equilibrium
water absorbency increased from 52–277 g water=g sample
with decreasing the concentration of NaCl from 0.9–
0.009% in distilled water. Water absorbency increased
from 58–310 g water=g sample with decreasing the concen-
tration of NaCl from 0.9–0.009% in distilled water for T3
hydrogel. For T4 hydrogel, equilibrium water absorbency
increased from 34–244 g water=g sample with decreasing
the concentration of NaCl from 0.9–0.009% in distilled
water. For T5 hydrogel, equilibrium water absorbency
increased from 38–266 g water=g sample, 36–269 g water=g
sample for T6 hydrogel, and 34–244 g water=g sample for
T7 with similar decreasing level of NaCl from 0.9–0.009%
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in distilled water. The sodium chloride (NaCl) concen-
tration in the water being absorbed greatly affects the
amount of fluid that can be absorbed by the polymer.
The ions of the NaCl act as ‘‘contaminator’’ ions and
become positioned along the polymer chain at the
carboxylate sites. The NaCl ions partially neutralize these
sites and limit the potential sites for hydrogen bond
formation between the polymer and water molecules. In
addition, there will be less repulsion between the cross-
linked chains of the polymer, thus enabling less water to
be absorbed. Mahdavinia G.R. et al.[25] also reported
similar behaviors.
3.9. Effect of Bath Temperature
The poly (AAm-co-AAc) based hydrogel (T3) having
35.85% AAm, were also prepared at different bath tem-
peratures and their effect on equilibrium water absorbency
was also investigated. The bath temperature was varied in
the range of 55–80
C. The results are shown in Fig. 8. The
Equilibrium water absorbency changed little from 203 to
195 g water=g sample, when bath temperature was between
55–60
C. The water absorbency increased continuously
from 195–573 (g water=g sample) when bath temperature
was in between 60–80
C.
FIG. 8. Effect of bath temperature on equilibrium water absorbancy of
the poly (AAm-co-AAc) hydrogels having 35.85% AAm.
487
KPS is thermal initiator in free radical polymerization.
The half-life of the decomposition of KPS decreased with
increase of bath temperature. The number of the resulting
free radicals in unit time increased along with increase of
the decomposition rate of KPS. The degree of polymeriza-
tion was decreased because of the increase of temperature
dependence of the chain transfer reaction[16,26,27]. The
effect of bath temperature on water absorbency is rather
limited when bath temperature was in between 55
C and
60
C, because the variation of the number of chain ends
in the networks was rather small within that temperature
range.
3.10. Water Retention of Super Absorbent
Polymer in Soil
One of the most important applications of superabsor-
bent hydrogels is for agriculture and horticulture purposes,
for effective utilization of water in dry areas. In this regard,
the testing of the poly (AAm-co-AAc) hydrogels (T3) hav-
ing 35.85% AAm, for water was also carried out under the
environment condition by growing the seeds of lentil.
Figure 9 shows two sets of pots (Set – I and Set – II). Both
contain same amount of soil, but in set I, 0.3% hydrogel
(T3) of the total soil was also added[28]. In both sets, same
quantity of seeds of lentil was sustained by adding of 400 g
water. Figure 9 shows the growth of seeds of lentil in set – I,
but in set – II lentil seeds did not grow. The reason is that
in excess of water, seeds of lentil were rotten in set – II, but
in set – I excess of water was used by superabsorbent.
Hence superabsorbent hydrogels are more beneficial for
that area in which seeds are not grown in soils due to excess
of water.
FIG. 9. Use of superabsorbent hydrogels (T3) as a soil conditioner for
growth of seeds of lentil (I) 0.3% (based on soil wt.); (II) 0%.
 488 R. S. TOMAR ET AL.
4. CONCLUSIONS
Poly (AAm-co-AAc) based super absorbent hydrogels
having different composition of AAm and AAc, were
synthesized by solution polymerization, using N,N0 -
methylenebisacrylamide as a cross-linker and potassium
persulphate as an initiator. The equilibrium water absor-
bency of synthesized super absorbent hydrogels having
acrylamide content 17.23–50.24%, were laid in the range
of 276–281 g water=g sample and super absorbent hydro-
gel (T3) having 35.85% AAm, has high water absorbency
(573 g water=g sample). The equilibrium water absorbency
changed little when bath temperature was 55
C and 60
C
and equilibrium water absorbency increased from 196–573
Downloaded by [Istanbul Universitesi Kutuphane ve Dok] at 21:45 20 December 2014
(g water=g sample) continuously when the bath tempera-
ture was raised to 60
C and 80
C. Due to ionic strength,
poly (AAm-co-AAc) hydrogels have highest equilibrium
water absorbency in 0.009% saline (NaCl) solution than
in 0.09% and 0.9 % saline solutions. The water retention
of the soil was enhanced by using superabsorbent hydro-
gel (T3). Use of superabsorbent hydrogel for the growth
of seeds of lentil was also investigated, which will find
application in agriculture.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors wish to Dr. R.P. Singh, Director, HBTI,
Kanpur and Dr. S.K. Jain, Professor, IIT, Kanpur for
moral research support. The authors gratefully acknowl-
edged to Mr. Anil Kumar Saini and Smt. Rekha, IIC;
IIT, Roorkee for the thermal analysis and SEM analysis
of the samples; and The Head, RSIC, CDRI, Lucknow
for recording the FTIR spectra.
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