Up-Scalable Synthesis of High Porous Superabsorbent Polymer via Alkaline Hydrolysis of Acrylamide using Microwave Irradiation: Application in Agriculture

We present a new one-pot industrial organic synthesis method of poly(acrylate-coacrylamide) superabsorbent polymer via partial alkaline hydrolysis of acrylamide using microwave irradiation. the method allows the hydrolysis, polymerization and gelation to take place in one pot during a very short reaction time (120 s), and with no need to operate under inert atmosphere. the gel is compact and has a water absorbency of 1031 g/g. the degree of hydrolysis of the gel is determined by a back titration method. ftir spectroscopy is used to confirm the hydrolysis and the formation of sodium acrylate. scanning electron microscopy (sem) reveals that the synthesized hydrogel has a high porous structure. the influence of the environmental parameters on water absorbency such as the ph and the ionic strength is also investigated. the product is tested for agricultural application as a soil moisture retention agent using onion as example. an enhancement in the growth of onion plant is proved in comparison to the growth of the onion without the superabsorbent polymer. due to the simplicity of the preparation process associated with the high absorbency of the gel, the process can be scaled up for industrial applications.