Study on superabsorbent composite. XII. Effect of ion-exchanged attapulgite on water absorbency of poly(acrylic acid)/attapulgite superabsorbent composites

✍ Scribed by An Li; Yaogang Zhao; Aiqin Wang

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2007
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 240 KB
• Volume: 105
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0021-8995
• DOI: 10.1002/app.26411

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

A series of poly(acrylic acid)/attapulgite superabsorbent composites were prepared by aqueous polymerization, using N, N′‐methylenebisacrylamide as a crosslinker and ammonium persulfate as an initiator. The effects of anion‐ and cation‐ exchanged attapulgite on water absorbency of superabsorbent composites were studied. The results showed that the anions and cations exchanged attapulgite can affect the physicochemical properties of attapulgite such as cation‐exchange capacity and specific surface area, which in turn have influence on water absorbency of composites. Compared with that of monovalent cation‐exchanged attapulgite, the water absorbencies of superabsorbent composites prepared with Ca^2+^, Al^3+^, and Fe^3+^‐exchanged attapulgite are relative low. However, multivalent cations exchanged attapulgite would improve the reswelling capacities of the superabsorbent composites, which suggested that multivalent cations exchanged attapulgite could serve as an additional inorganic crosslinker in the polymeric network. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2007