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Preparation and Properties of Polyacrylamide/Sodium Alginate Hydrogel and the Effect of Fe³⁺ Adsorption on Its Mechanical Performance

Zheng Cao^1,2,3,4,*, Yang Zhang², Keming Luo², Yinqiu Wu², Hongxin Gao², Junfeng Cheng^2,*, Chunlin Liu^2,3, Guoliang Tao², Qingbao Guan¹, Lei Zhang⁵

1 Key Laboratory of High Performance Fibers & Products, Ministry of Education, Donghua University, Shanghai, 201620, China
2 Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Environmentally Friendly Polymeric Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Photovoltaic Science and Engineering, Changzhou University, Changzhou, 213164, China
3 Changzhou University Huaide College, Jingjiang, 214500, China
4 National Experimental Demonstration Center for Materials Science and Engineering, Changzhou University, Changzhou, 213164, China
5 Key Laboratory of Optic-Electric Sensing and Analytical Chemistry for Life Science, MOE, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266042, China

* Corresponding Authors: Zheng Cao. Email: ; Junfeng Cheng. Email:

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Biomass-Derived Functional Hydrogels)

Journal of Renewable Materials 2021, 9(8), 1447-1462. https://doi.org/10.32604/jrm.2021.015593

Received 30 December 2020; Accepted 24 February 2021; Issue published 08 April 2021

Abstract

The preparation and application of functional hydrogels based on natural polysaccharides have always been a hot research topic. In this study, using acrylamide (AM) monomer, N, N'-methylene bisacrylamide (MBA) as cross-linking agent, potassium persulfate (K₂S₂O₈) as initiator, in the presence of natural polysaccharide sodium alginate (SA), the PAM/SA hydrogel was prepared by free radical polymerization. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), swelling performance tests, scanning electron microscope (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), UV-visible spectrophotometer, mechanical property measurements were carried out to analyze the composition, morphology, and performance of the hydrogels. The swelling behavior, dye adsorption performance, and the mechanical properties of PAM/SA hydrogels before and after Fe³⁺ adsorption were studied. The experimental results showed that the introduction of SA with 4.7%, 7.8%, and 10.3% effectively improved the mechanical and dye adsorption properties of PAM composite hydrogels. The adsorption capacity of PAM/4.7%SA and PAM/10.3%SA hydrogels at equilibrium can reach 40.01 and 44.02 mg/g for methylene blue, which is higher than the value 13.58 mg/g of pure PAM hydrogel. The compressive strength of pure PAM hydrogel is 0.124 MPa. When the SA content is 4.7%, 7.8%, and 10.3%, the compressive strength of the PAM/SA hydrogel was corresponding to 0.130 MPa, 0.134 MPa, and 0.152 MPa, respectively. Fe³⁺ was introduced into the PAM/SA hydrogels, and PAM/SA/Fe³⁺ double-network hydrogels with excellent mechanical properties could be prepared by adjusting the SA content (4.7%, 7.8%, and 10.3%), soaking time (1 h, 2 h, 3 h, 4 h, 5 h, 6 h), and Fe³⁺ concentration (4.76%, 7.41%, 9.09%, and 13.04%). Under the same Fe³⁺ concentration of 9.09% and adsorption time of 4 h, the compressive strengths of the PAM/4.7%SA, PAM/7.8%SA, and PAM/10.3%SA hydrogels could reach 0.354 MPa, 0.767 MPa, and 0.778 MPa, respectively.

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