Preparation and Characterization of Poly(AMPS-co-Aa-co-DEAA)/MMT Nanocomposite Hydrogels

Nanocomposite (NC) hydrogels poly (AMPS-co-AA-co-DEAA)/MMT were prepared by in situ free radical polymerization by using montmorillonite (MMT) as the inorganic cross-linking agent and 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid (AMPS), acrylic acid (AA) and N,N-diethylacrylamide (DEAA) as the monomers. Based on the confirmation of the composition and network structure of the nanocomposite hydrogels, the mechanical properties and the swelling behavior in buffers and salt solutions with different pH levels were systematically investigated. The hydrogel had good mechanical properties due to the homogeneous dispersion of MMT. Its tensile strength at break reached 0.1 MPa, and elongation at break reached 1807%. The nanocomposite hydrogel exhibited certain pH and salt-sensitive behavior. As for the structure of the synthetic hydrogel, its morphology was determined by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).