Preparation and characterization of bead type superabsorbent resin

Abstract

Bead type super-absorbent resins to be used for release-control were prepared by modification of the inverse suspension polymerization, and their physical properties were characterized. Acrylic acid and acrylamide were used as monomers, and N,N-methylenebisacrylamide was used as crosslinker, controlling the viscosity of monomer solution by adding hydroxyethylcellulose (HEC). SEM studies of the synthesized beads verified that the bead surfaces had many pores with their diameters of several tens nm. The bead sizes were in the range of 500-3000 μm, depending on the viscosity of the monomer solution. Both absorbent amount and absorbent rate of the beads were inversely proportional to the bead size, and the maximum water absorbent amount of 1 g beads was determined to be ca. 170-200 g for 5 hrs. The absorbent rate was also dependent on pH change of the aqueous solution, exhibiting the maximum rate in pH ranging from 5 to 11. The absorbent rate decreased as the concentration of salt (NaCl and MgCl2 or ethanol and ethylene glycol increased. Release time of the water absorbed into the bead resins was 700 hrs, confirming the usefulness of the resin for the good release-control materials.