Preparation of N-isopropylacrylamide/itaconic acid/Pumice highly swollen composite hydrogels to explore their removal capacity of methylene blue

In this work, a new super adsorbent N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAAm)/itaconic acid (IA)/Pumice composite hydrogels were prepared by gamma-radiation copolymerization of NIPAAm and itaconic acid (IA) in an aqueous solution with Pumice as a crosslinker. The stimuli responsiveness, swelling properties and mechanical properties of NIPAAm/IA//Pumice composite hydrogels were investigated. The parameters of swelling and diffusion of water in dye solutions were evaluated for the composite hydrogels. Water and Methylene Blue (MB) dye diffusion into hydrogels was found to be non-Fickian in character. Highly swollen NIPAAm/IA/Pumice composite hydrogels were used for sorption of water soluble cationic Methylene blue (MB) dye. MB adsorption capacities of the hydrogels were found to be 8.95,17.67 and 22.62 mg MB/g dry gel in PNIPAAm, P(NIPAAm/IA) and P(NIPAAm/IA/Pumice) systems, respectively. It is to be emphasized that the addition of Pumice in the gel structure improved mechanical properties and the adsorption capability of the new composite hydrogels. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.