Porous superabsorbent composites prepared from aqueous foam template and application evaluation

• Published in: Soft matter Vol. 2; no. 7; pp. 1438 - 1446
• Main Authors: Liu, Yan, Duan, Fangzhi, Zhu, Yongfeng, Wang, Xicun, Zong, Li, Wang, Aiqin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Royal Society of Chemistry 14.02.2024
• Subjects: Absorption; Chitosan; Copolymers; Distilled water; Graft copolymers; Moisture content; Oil shale; Pericarp; Polymers; Retention time; Seeds; Soil porosity; Soil water; Superabsorbent polymers; Sustainable agriculture; Water absorption
• ISSN: 1744-683X; 1744-6848
• DOI: 10.1039/d3sm01455j

Rapid water absorption is very important for the application of superabsorbent polymers under dry or semi-dry conditions, but there are currently few relevant studies. In this context, a novel porous superabsorbent of chitosan-grafted acrylic copolymer-2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid/sapindus mukorossi pericarp/calcined oil shale semi-coke (CS- g -P(AA- co -AMPS)/SMP/COSSC) was prepared by a green and convenient foam template method, which was triggered by redox polymerization. The rich pore structure of the porous superabsorbent was conducive to accelerating the water absorption rate. It only took 15 min to reach a swelling capacity of 650 g g 1 in distilled water. Soil experiments show that even with the addition of 0.5 wt% porous superabsorbent, the soil water retention time can be extended to 7 days. Finally, it was applied to the growth of cabbage seeds and it was found that the growth was significantly improved. Based on these excellent properties, we expect to provide a valuable reference for the preparation of fast-absorbing materials through the green water-based foam template method, contributing to sustainable agriculture. Rapid water absorption is very important for the application of a superabsorbent. In this paper, porous superabsorbent composites were prepared from an aqueous foam template and it can reach 650 g g 1 in distilled water in just 15 minutes.