PREPARATION AND SWELLING PROPERTIES OF POLY(3,4 –ETHYLENEDIOXYTHIOPHENE)/POLY(ACRYLIC ACID)/BENTONITE COMPOSITE HYDROGELS

Abstract

In this study, poly(acrylic acid) (PAA)/bentonite (BNT) composites were synthesized through chemical crosslinking by a chemical polymerization using ammonium persulfate as initiator and N,N’-methylenebisacrylamide as crosslinker. Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) was synthesized by oxidative polymerization and then PEDOT/PAA/BNT composites were prepared by mixing PEDOT at 5%, 10% and 20% by mass into PAA/BNT composite. These hydrogel composites were characterized by FTIR, XRD and SEM. It was observed that water absorbency increased with the increase of PEDOT ratio of hydrogel composites.