Rheological investigations and swelling behaviour of hydrogels based on gum ghatti-cl-poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide-co-acrylic acid)/CoFe2O4 nanoparticles.

The underlying objective of this study was to synthesize [gum ghatti-cl-poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide-co-acrylic acid)/CoFe2O4] nanocomposite hydrogels using free radical polymerization method. Gum ghatti (Gg) as a biopolymer, N-isopropyl acrylamide (NIPA) and acrylic acid (AA) as a monomer, ammonium persulphate (APS) and N,N-methylene bis-acrylamide (MBA) were used as initiator and cross-linking agents, respectively. The characterization of as prepared gels was performed by scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction techniques. The present study focuses on the swelling behaviour and rheological investigations of the hydrogels. Different tests were performed on nanocomposite prepared particle gels to investigate the effect of CoFe2O4 nanoparticle content (0–60 mg) concentration on network structure, swelling, and mechanical behaviour of the gels. The Gg‑cl‑P(NIPA-co-AA)/CoFe2O4 with 30 mg CoFe2O4 exhibited a superior swelling ratio. Loading of 30 mg CoFe2O4 into Gg‑cl‑P(NIPA-co-AA matrix resulted in capable mechanical stability. All the experiments illustrate that the Gg‑cl‑P(NIPA-co-AA)/CoFe2O4 nanocomposite hydrogel is the best candidate for its use as flocculants and absorbents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]