Electron Beam Synthesis and Characterization of Acrylamide/Acrylic Acid Hydrogels Using Trimethylolpropane Trimethacrylate as Cross-Linker

The purpose of the paper is to present the synthesis and characterization of hydrogels prepared by free-radical copolymerization of acrylamide and acrylic acid in aqueous solutions using potassium persulfate as initiator and trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate as cross-linker,via the radiation technique. the samples were subjected to electron beam treatment in the dose range of 2 to 4 kgy and the influence of the absorbed dose and amount of cross-linker on the swelling properties,diffusion coefficient,and network parameters of hydrogels was investigated. a possible reaction mechanism for acrylamide/acrylic acid/trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate hydrogels was also suggested. the structure and morphology of hydrogels were characterized by fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. © 2016 gabriela craciun et al.