Abstract

ORTIZ-GARCIA, Thalía; RAPADO-PANEQUE, Manuel  and  PENICHE-COVAS, Carlos. Superabsorbent polyacylamide based hydrogels for agricultural applications: swelling studies. Rev Cub Quim [online]. 2021, vol.33, n.2, pp. 46-68.  Epub Apr 26, 2021. ISSN 2224-5421.

Polyacrylamide hydrogels were produced by simultaneous synthesis and crosslinking, induced by gamma radiation in a 60Co irradiator, from a monomeric solution of 1, 26 M acrylamide. Obtained hydrogels were chemically modified by incomplete basic hydrolysis, using potassium hydroxide to achieve a poly(acrylamide-co-potassium acrylate) copolymer. The swelling process of samples in distilled water fits first order kinetic models, and second order kinetics in conditions of both acid and basic pH at constant ionic force. The best swelling values are obtained for samples irradiated at 10 kGy and modified with potassium hydroxide for 1 h, thus achieving a weight gain of over 1000 times its weight in distilled water, whereas in pH buffers the optimum absorption capacity for an agricultural-used hydrogel was slightly exceeded, increasing its weight 60 times over.

Keywords : superabsorbent hydrogels; agriculture; drought; swelling.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )