Hidrogéis de poliacrilamida e bentonita: síntese, caracterização e aplicação na agricultura

Abstract

Clays refers to soil particles that have diameters less than 2 μm and who may include different types of minerals: silica lamellar magnesium and aluminum (phyllosilicates). Clays have a structure consisting of stacked two-dimensional nano-crystalline lamellae. Hydrogels are crosslinked hydrophilic polymers that have the capacity to absorb large quantities of water or aqueous solutions (10-1000 times their original weight or volume) in short times. A main applications of the superabsorbent hydrogels has been in agriculture since they can improve several soil properties such as the ability of water retention, nutrient retention. To improve the properties of hydrogels, inorganic silicates may be used to reduce production costs and increase the resistance of polymer matrices. The preparation of organoclay is a crucial step for the synthesis of nanocomposites of polymers insoluble in water and clays. Some organic cations such as alkylammonium, have been used in the preparation of organic clay through ion exchange reactions. Polyacrylamide gels have been studied since the 80s. Many of acrylamide gels and/or acrylic acid were studied containing montmorillonite or bentonite. In this work, we synthesized superabsorbent hydrogels composites polyacrylamide and copolymer of acrylamide and sodium acrylate with bentonite in natura and organofilic for use as soil conditioners. This make to synthesis of polyacrylamide hydrogel nanocomposites with bentonite in natura and organically modified. The hydrogels with clay showed better mechanical properties compared to hydrogels without clay. The polyacrylamide hydrogel hydrolyzed with 10% clay in natura showed a water uptake of 1238 fold relative to its mass and was, among all hydrogels tested, proved to be more efficient and a great alternative for application as soil conditioner and higher, even used the product on the market today.