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A solution blown superporous nonwoven hydrogel based on hydroxypropyl cellulose
Ting Yang Nilsson1, Markus Andersson Trojer2
1Fibre Development, Department of Chemistry, Biomaterials and Textiles, RISE IVF, Sweden. markus.andersson-trojer@ri.se and Laboratory of Organic Electronics, Linköping University, Sweden.
Soft Matter
|July 9, 2020
Summary
Researchers developed a superporous hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC) hydrogel using a nonwoven technique. This fast-absorbing hydrogel shows potential for applications requiring rapid water uptake.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Polymer Chemistry
- Biomaterials Engineering
Background:
- Hydrogels are crucial in various applications due to their water absorption properties.
- Developing superporous hydrogels with enhanced absorption kinetics is an ongoing research area.
- Hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC) offers biocompatibility and tunable properties for hydrogel development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To synthesize a novel superporous hydrogel based on hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC).
- To investigate the water absorption characteristics of the developed HPC hydrogel.
- To analyze the relationship between hydrogel structure (fibre thickness, pore size) and absorption properties.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of superporous HPC hydrogel using the nonwoven solution blown technique.
- Thermal crosslinking of nonwoven HPC fibres with citric acid.
- Characterization of crosslinking via FT-IR spectroscopy and determination of gel fraction.
- Evaluation of water absorption kinetics and equilibrium using gravimetric analysis.
- Correlation analysis between structural parameters and absorption properties using linearized regression.
Main Results:
- A superporous HPC hydrogel with approximately 70% gel fraction was successfully produced.
- The hydrogel demonstrated very fast water absorption, reaching 80% water content within 30 seconds.
- Equilibrium absorption was dependent on fibre thickness and pore size; absorption rate correlated with pore size.
Conclusions:
- The nonwoven solution blown technique is effective for creating superporous HPC hydrogels.
- The developed HPC hydrogel exhibits rapid and efficient water absorption capabilities.
- Structural parameters significantly influence the absorption performance, offering a basis for material design.
