Synthesis and characterization of methacrylamide-itaconic acid hydrogel

Abstract

In this research, methacrylamide-itaconic acid hydrogel was synthesized using 4, 4-azobis-4-cyanovaleric acid radical initiator and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as crosslinker. Then, the role of various factors such as the weight percentage of monomers in the mixture - the concentration of the initiator - the effect of temperature and reaction time and the concentration of the cross-linker were determined. The best conditions for hydrogel synthesis were recorded (time = 120 min, (EGDMA) = 0.025 mol/L, monomer = 0.5 mol/L (75% itaconic acid and 25% methacrylamide) (wt %), ACV = 0.04 mol/L and Temperature = 70 ℃). The hydrogel structure was confirmed using scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray energy diffraction (EDX) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR).