Synthesis of high-performance superabsorbent glycerol acrylate-cross-linked poly (acrylic acid)

Abstract

Glycerol acrylate (GA) is synthesised by an acryloylation reaction with acryloyl chloride. An ester was used as a cross-linking agent at varying proportions in the synthesis of poly acrylic acid (PAA). The amount of cross-linking density in the product (GA-PAA) and degree of neutralisation determine the absorbency of the polymer samples. A sample of GA-PAA containing 0.8 % GA was discovered to absorb 395 and 66 g/g of water and saline solution, respectively. Different solvent uptakes were tested with the sample showing varying capacity for different solvents. The temperature of the reaction was maintained at 60 °C and a reaction time of 2½ h. FTIR, TGA, SEM and XRD analyses were used to characterise the products