ISSN print edition: 0366-6352 ISSN electronic edition: 1336-9075 Registr. No.: MK SR 9/7 Published monthly

Green starch/graphene oxide hydrogel nanocomposites for sustained release applications

Asmaa Sayed, Mai Yasser, Manar El-sayed Abdel-raouf, and Reham Mohsen

Polymer Chemistry Department, National Center for Radiation Research and Technology, Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority, Nasr City, Egypt

E-mail: asmaasayedncrrt@gmail.com

Received: 10 November 2021  Accepted: 15 April 2022

Abstract:

Green nanocomposite hydrogels (ST-PHEMA/GO) comprised of starch and 2-Hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) reinforced with different ratios of graphene oxide (GO) were prepared via gamma radiation induced crosslinking polymerization. The chemical structure and morphology and the crystallinity were studied by FTIR FE-SEM, AFM, TEM and XRD, respectively. The swelling behavior of the claimed hydrogels was verified versus time and the pH-dependent swelling at three different irradiation dose:10, 20 and 30 kGy was also investigated. The results of the swelling study showed that the swelling capacity of the hydrogel networks varied with the changes of the pH of the solution, the GO content and the irradiation doses. Moreover, the swelling isotherm of all the prepared hydrogels followed a Fickian diffusion mechanism n < 0.5.

Graphical abstract

Keywords: Biopolymer; Gamma-irradiation; Polymerization; Characterization; Atomic force microscopy; Swelling study

Full paper is available at www.springerlink.com.

DOI: 10.1007/s11696-022-02236-7

Chemical Papers 76 (8) 5119–5132 (2022)