Effect of Organic-Solvent Treatment on Swelling of Poly(acrylamide-co-sodiumacrylate) Gel

Abstract

Some hydrogels can adsorb harmful heavy-metal ions, of which the property can be usable for purifying wastewater. One of the difficult problems for such a practical use is a slow rate of swelling process due to slow diffusion of the solvents in the hydrogels. In this circumstance, the authors have observed the swelling behaviors and SAXS profiles of the po/y(acrylamide-co-sodium acrylate) gels after having soaked in several respective organic solvents for a while; they have found a considerable increase in the swelling rate as well as the swelling ratio in the gels and a definite peak in their SAXS profile.