Preparation of monolithic and macroporous superabsorbent polymer(SAP) via high internal phase Pickering emulsion(HIPPE) templat

Abstract

Based on the $Al_2O_3$ nanoparticle stabilized HIPPE template, a superabsorbent polymer (SAP) with improved swelling rate has been successfully manufactured. This improvement in the swelling rate has been confirmed to be influenced by increased connectivity within the porous structure. The pore throat, an indicator of the connectivity between pores, was frequently observed as the concentration of cross-linking agent increased and the internal volume fraction increased. By properly adjusting these 2 variables, numerous pore throats could be successfully formed and observed with SEM. Under optimized condition, macroporous SAP showed rapid swelling rate since the absorbency immediately reaching 32.4 g/g within 10 seconds after the contact to 0.154 M NaCl solution. By adjusting the crosslinking agent concentration, maximum fluid absorbency was also obtained with 475.4 g/g for DI water and 64.6 g/g for 0.154 M NaCl solution.