Crosslinked carboxymethylchitosan-g-poly(acrylic acid) copolymer as a novel superabsorbent polymer.

A novel carboxymethylchitosan-g-poly(acrylic acid) (CMCTS-g-PAA) superabsorbent polymer was prepared through graft polymerization of acrylic acid onto the chain of carboxymethylchitosan and subsequent crosslinking. It was demonstrated by FTIR spectroscopy that acrylic acid had been graft polymerized with carboxymethylchitosan. The thermal stability of the polymer was characterized by thermogravimetric analysis. By studying the swelling ratio of the polymer synthesized under different conditions, optimization conditions were found for a polymer with the highest swelling ratio. The rate of water absorption of the polymer was high, and the swelling of the polymer fitted the process of first dynamics. The swelling ratio of the polymer was pH-dependent.