Effect of chain structures of monomer on hydroxyethyl cellulose-based superabsorbent properties and improvement of chickpeas plant growth of water deficit-stressed

Abstract

The aim of this research was evaluation of the influence of distance between zwitterionic monomer ions on the performance of superabsorbents. For this purpose, two zwitterionic monomers 4-(3-aminopropyl) amino-4-oxo-2-butenoic acid (APOB) and 4-(6-aminohexyl) amino-4-oxo-2-butenoic acid (AHOB) were prepared and applied for synthesis of two new superabsorbents through graft copolymerization onto hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC) in the presence of acrylic acid (AA). In synthesis of superabsorbents factors such as the highest water absorbency capacity, absorbency rate, gel strength, and environmental problems should be resolved or improved. The results demonstrated that the water absorbency capacity and rate parameters (τ) of HEC-g-p(AA-co-APOB) and HEC-g-p(AA-co-AHOB) in distilled water were 986.62, 664.38 g/g, and 98.04, 140.84 min, respectively. The biodegradability of HEC-g-p(AA-co-APOB) was approximately 4 times more than HEC-g-p(AA-co-AHOB). However, based on the rheological analyses (G'/G″) HEC-g-p(AA-co-AHOB) was stronger than the other. Additionally, studies of water retention on soil containing HEC-g-p(AA-co-AHOB) superabsorbent (soil with 0.25 wt% material) showed that the after 30 days has ≤5 % water while soil in the absence of superabsorbent after 10 days completely dried. Studies of the growth of plants in soil demonstrated in the presence of HEC-g-p(AA-co-AHOB) the average length of shoots was 36 cm while without superabsorbent were 25 cm.