Radiation synthesis and characterization of new hydrogels based on acrylamide copolymers cross-linked with 1-allyl-2-thiourea

Poly(acrylamide-1-allyl-2-thiourea) hydrogels, Poly(AA-AT), were synthesized by gamma irradiation using Co-60 gamma source in different irradiation dose and at different 1-allyl-2-thiourea content in the monomer mixture. For the characterization of the hydrogels, Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FT-IR), thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA), elemental analyzer and the swellability of the hydrogels were used. It was noted that 1-allyl-2-thiourea in the synthesized hydrogels was increased by the increasing the content of the 1-allyl-2-thiourea in the irradiation monomer mixture and increasing the radiation dose for the hydrogel synthesis. (C) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.