Microwave-assisted Method for Synthesis of Cassava Starch-Grafted Polyacrylamide Hydrogel: Initiator and Irradiation Power Variation

Abstract

This study aimed to synthesize cassava starch-grafted polyacrylamide hydrogel (CS-g-PAM) by the microwave-assisted method based on cassava starch as the backbone, acrylamide as the monomer, and potassium peroxodisulfate (KPS) as the initiator. In this paper, the effect of KPS amount as initiator and microwave irradiation power was investigated on the obtained hydrogel properties as a candidate for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) application. Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) were used to investigate the effective grafting of polyacrylamide chains onto the backbone of cassava starch. Results show that the preparation of CS-g-PAM with 0.3 g of KPS and 700 W of irradiation power resulted in the best performance, which was 602.66% of grafting percentage and 81.72% of water solubility. Its viscosity also exceeded 96% after 15 days of aging.