A novel, slow‐release polymer containing phosphorous fertilizer was synthesized by the rapid coordination of iron ions with polymers after the microwave radiation polymerization of collagen, 2‐acrylamido‐2‐methyl‐1‐propanesulfonic acid, and acrylic acid. We obtained an optimized collagen‐g‐poly(acrylic acid‐co‐2‐acrylamido‐2‐methyl‐1‐propane sulfonic acid) collagen‐g‐p(AA‐co‐AMPS)–Fe(III) polymer with great equilibrium swelling capacities of 2595 g/g in distilled water and 121 g/g in 0.9 wt % NaCl solution and an excellent sustained fertilizer release of about 30 days. In addition, for the collagen‐g‐p(AA‐co‐AMPS)–Fe(III) polymer, the effect of cations on its swelling followed the order K+ > Na+ > Mg2+ > Ca2+. The structure and morphology were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and scanning electron microscopy. Moreover, the collagen‐g‐p(AA‐co‐AMPS)–Fe(III) polymers emancipated the nutrients in a more controlled manner than collagen‐g‐p(AA‐co‐AMPS). The thermal stability, water absorbency, and good slow‐release of fertilizer provide the collagen‐g‐p(AA‐co‐AMPS)–Fe(III) polymer with great potential as a fertilizer‐carrying vehicle and an aquasorb to be applied in agriculture and horticulture. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019, 136, 47178.

As release formulations, superabsorbent polymers have attracted considerable attentions to reduce herbicide leaching and mitigate contamination. For this purpose, this study dealt with preparation, characterization, and performance test of a novel amphoteric superabsorbent polymer in adsorption and release of 2, 4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2, 4-D) herbicide. LW-g-p(AA-co-DMDAAC) was successfully synthesized by using leather waste (LW) as raw material and acrylic acid (AA), and dimethyldiallylammonium chloride (DMDAAC) as monomers. Then, the resulting LW-g-p(AA-co-DMDAAC) was characterized before and after 2, 4-D sorption by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). In addition, LW-g-p(AA-co-DMDAAC) with great equilibrium swelling capacity of 3203 g/g in distilled water, 181 g/g in 0.9 wt % NaCl exhibited excellent performance of swelling. Two absorption peaks appeared at pH = 4 and 7 solely when swelling occurred, and the swelling behavior in pH = 7 satisfied the pseudo first-order kinetic equation. Moreover, the sorbed 2, 4-D reached at 68 mg/g and showed sustained release cycle of 45 days under acidic or alkaline conditions. Therefore, the sustained release pattern of 2, 4-D as well as water absorbency made LW-g-p (AA-co-DMDAAC) suitable and potential candidate for controlling the release of herbicides to improve utilization and reduce environmental pollution.

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Superhydrophobicity is vital to natural rubber‐based materials and can endow materials with intriguing features, such as self‐cleaning. Normally, low surface energy and surfacial micro/nanostructure are the two premises of superhydrophobicity. However, the fragility of micro/nanostructures in natural rubber (NR) composite surfaces makes the maintenance of durable superhydrophobicity under external forces difficult. Thus, the application of NR composite elastomers is limited in industrial fields. In this work, a novel NR‐based elastomer is prepared by uniquely dispersing perfluorooctytriethoxysilane‐modified leather collagen fibers (M‐LCF) with multiscale structures into rubber matrix. The as‐prepared NR composite with 40% M‐LCF content displays excellent superhydrophobicity with a water contact angle of 156°, and the endowed superhydrophobicity is ultradurable and can be retained after 2000 cycles of mechanical abrasion under a pressure of 100 kPa. Moreover, the prepared material features superior self‐cleaning performance and mechanical properties. The reported work may serve as a basic for fabricating materials with durable superhydrophobicity.