Analysis of swelling and de-swelling kinetics and water absorbency in ionic medium for (Acrylamide-co-Acrylic Acid) hydrogel

Hydrogels are three dimensional cross linked polymer networks, linked through chemical or physical interactions, and has the capacity to absorb large amounts of water. Hydrogels that are biocompatible have medicinal applications. The water absorbency of gels may depend on pH, temperature, ionic strength. Acrylamide (AAm) and Acrylic acid (AAc) were polymerised by solution polymerisation to synthesise Poly (AAm-co-AAc). The equilibrium swelling was compared by varying the initial monomer proportion. The equilibrium swelling was compared by varying ionic strength of water. And, the polymers were characterised by FTIR spectroscopy.