Composite hydrogel based on surface modified mesoporous silica and poly[(2-acryloyloxy)ethyl trimethylammonium chloride]

This work focused on the synthesis, characterization and water absorbency of a composite hydrogel based on poly[(2-acryloyloxy)ethyl trimethylammonium chloride] and mesoporous silica, MCM-41. The MCM-41 was synthesized and later surface functionalized with triethoxyvinylsilane (VTES) and 3-trimethoxysilylpropylmethacrylate (TMSPM) by a post-grafting procedure. The composite hydrogels were obtained by in-situ polymerization using a mixture of monomer, crosslinker and initiator in the presence of functionalized MCM-41. Diverse characterization techniques were used at the different stages of synthesis, namely, FT-IR, TEM, SEM, DRX, ²⁹Si and ¹³C solid state NMR, and N₂ adsorption isotherms at 77 K. Finally, the water uptake performance of the composites was tested as a function of time, mesoporous silica loading and coupling agent used at the functionalization. The composites using non-functionalized MCM-41 reached the highest water uptake, whereas those composite with MCM-41 TMSPM exhibited the lowest sorption.