Abstract
Anionic polysaccharides are known to react in unconventional patterns with di-valent metal ions to form 3D-structured hydrogels. However, little is known about the influence of divalent ions concentration on hydrogel formation. Herein, carboxymethyl cellulose based hydrogels crosslinked with zinc ions (Zn2+) and fumaric acid are synthesized and characterized for swelling, structure, morphology and thermal properties, and the effect of Zn2+ concentration on hydrogel properties is investigated. It was found that increasing Zn2+ to 0.5 M enhances gel fraction and water absorbency, at which super-absorbent yet stable, crystalline (79% crystallinity index) FA-0.5 exhibiting water-absorbency (2259%) and stability toward water (51%) and heat (−3.17 mW and 0.9% degradation at 50 °C) is formed. The results reveal that crosslinking is influenced by Zn2+ concentration and interaction with other hydrogel components. The hydrolytic and thermal properties of FA-0.5 shows potential as a stable biomaterial.
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