In the current study, the performance of superabsorbent hydrogel composites comprised of Guar gum-Pectin/Polyacrylamide/ZnO crosslinked with gamma irradiation (10 kGy) has been investigated for sustainable agriculture. The claimed composites (GG/PC/PAAm/ZnOx) were characterized by FTIR, TGA, and AFM. The swelling capacity data reveal that the equilibrium water swelling (EW) of the composites was increased by increasing the ZnO content from 600 to 1050 g/g for zero to the highest concentration of ZnO, respectively. Furthermore, the physical properties of the soil mixed with the hydrogels were improved; water holding capacity (WHC) increased to 66% and water retention (WR) kept at 15% after 20 days. The composites showed a good degradability in the biodegradation test. They also portrayed super-absorption capacity at three swelling/deswelling cycles. This advancement is important for reducing water consumption through the irrigation of arid lands. The prepared composites were proved as excellent candidates in sustainable agriculture applications.

No abstract

In the current study, the performance of superabsorbent hydrogel composites comprised of Guar gum-Pectin/ Polyacrylamide/ ZnO crosslinked with gamma irradiation (10 kGy) has been investigated for sustainable agriculture. The claimed composites (GG/PC/PAAm/ZnOx) were characterized by FTIR, TGA, and AFM. The swelling capacity data reveal that the equilibrium water swelling (EW) of the composites was increased by increasing the ZnO content from 600 g/g to 1050 g/g for zero to the highest concentration of ZnO, respectively. Furthermore, the physical properties of the soil mixed with the hydrogels were improved; water holding capacity (WHC) increased to 66% and water retention (WR) kept at 15% after 20 days. The composites showed a good degradability in the biodegradation test. They also portrayed super-absorption capacity at three swelling/deswelling cycles. This advancement is important for reducing water consumption through the irrigation of arid lands. The prepared composites were proved as excellent candidates in sustainable agriculture applications.

Nanocomposite biohydrogels comprised of Xanthan gum, Agar, and Gelatin including different weight ratios of Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO−NPs) have been prepared via gamma irradiation technique in presence of methylene bis acrylamide (MBAm) as a crosslinking agent to be employed as antibacterial environmentally benign formulations. The prepared hydrogels were characterized by several techniques: Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy for confirming the chemical structure, X‐ray diffraction for crystallographic features and thermal gravimetric analysis for thermal properties. The AFM and SEM were used for investigating the surface features and morphology of the biohydrogels. The results showed that both Gamma irradiation and incorporation of ZnO−NPs improve the gel (wt %) of the prepared biohydrogel nanocomposite from 42.8±1.5 wt% for the unirradiated composite to 81.2±0.9 wt% after exposed to 20 kGy and reaches to 92±0.68 wt% in addition of 0.5×10−2 g of ZnO−NPs. Also, the effect of ZnO−NPs on the antimicrobial activity of the biohydrogel was verified. It was found that the prepared nanocomposite biohydrogels possess good thermal stability and remarkable antimicrobial activity towards different pathogens, thus they can be used in possible biological applications.