Design, synthesis and evaluation of N, N1-methylenebisacrylamide crosslinked smart polymer hydrogel for the controlled release of water and plant nutrients in agriculture field. (2021) - Dhanapal, V.
Abstract: The present investigation is focused on the development of a series of hydrophilic smart polymer hydrogels using acrylic acid (AA) methacrylic acid (MAA), acrylamide (AM), 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) as monomers and N, N 1 -methylenebisacrylamide (N, N 1 -MBA) as crosslinker. The structure, thermal stability and surface morphology of hydrogels were characterized by FT-IR, TGA/DTG and SEM respectively. An optimized copolymer composition had absorbed 654 g/g of water and it released the imbibed water over a period of 19 days. Besides, 88, 75 and 80% of urea, potash and superphosphate respectively were absorbed from their 1% solution and it had released only 37, 30 and 35% of these absorbed fertilizers. The results indicated that the obtained polymer may be used as matrix for the controlled release of water and fertilizers (plant nutrients) in agriculture sector.