Study on Radiation Synthesis and Property of PDMAEMA/Clay Nanocomposite Hydrogel

In order to improve the mechanical strength of PDMAEMA hydrogels, a facile approach to synthesize PDMAEMA/clay nanocomposite hydrogel (PDLG) using radiation technique was developed. The effects of synthesis conditions on the gel fraction, structure, swelling behavior, thermo sensitivity and mechanical strength of the PDLG were investigated. The results show that the incorporation of inorganic clay can increase the crosslinking densities of PDLG, thus the PDLG has smaller pore size and lower equilibrium swelling ratio. PDLG containing clay no longer shows overshooting effects, and its lower critical solution temperature decreases to about 30 ℃. The incorporation of clay can enhance the mechanical strength of PDLG significantly. With the increase of clay content in PDLG, the compression stress of PDLG can reach up to 7.19 MPa at a strain of 95%. The radiation synthesized PDLG with outstanding comprehensive properties is expected to have better application in removal of contaminants for waste water.