Oxidized multiwalled carbon nanotube reinforced rheological examination on Gum ghatti‐cl‐poly(acrylic acid) hydrogels.

The intention of the present study was to synthesize Gum ghatti‐cl‐poly(acrylic acid)/‐o‐MWCNT hydrogel by free radical copolymerization method where the role of various ingredients are as: Gum ghatti as biopolymer (GG), acrylic acid (AA) as a probe for synthetic monomer, ammonium persulfate as initiator and methylene bis‐acrylamide (MBA) as a crosslinker. The oxidized multiwalled nanocarbon tubes (‐o‐MWCNT) with variable amounts (0–50 mg) were used as fillers. The as‐prepared hydrogels were characterized by X‐ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The rheological investigation of hydrogels revealed that the storage modulus (G′) was always higher than the loss modulus (G″) in the linear viscoelastic region over the entire frequency range. The persistent covalence crosslinking is responsible for the solid‐like behavior and elastic nature (G′ > G″). Hydrogels containing Gum ghatti‐cl‐poly(acrylic acid)/‐o‐MWCNT increased with strain. The nonlinear oscillatory shear increases by the addition ‐o‐MWCNT. The features shown highlight the potential of Gum ghatti‐cl‐poly(acrylic acid)/‐o‐MWCNT hydrogels for agricultural, medicinal, and pharmaceutical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]