title: Electrospun novel super-absorbent based on polysaccharide-polyvinyl alcohol-montmorillonite clay nanocomposites.
abstract: A novel super-absorbent material was fabricated by electrospinning the natural polysaccharide pullulan (PULL) with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and montmorillonite (MMT) clay to form nonwoven webs, which were then heat treated. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) micrographs, X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns, and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis of the novel super-absorbent nanofibers suggest the coexistence of PULL, PVA, and MMT through the exfoliation of MMT layers in the super-absorbent nanofiber composite. The heat-treated PULL/PVA/MMT webs loaded with 5 wt% MMT electrospun nanofibers exhibited a water absorbency of 143.42 g g(-1) in distilled water and a water absorbency of 39.75 g g(-1) in a 0.9 wt% NaCl solution. Under extremely dry conditions, the PULL/PVA/MMT webs exhibited the ability to retain 43% distilled water and 38% saline water after being exposed to the atmosphere for one week. The heat treatment improved the crystallinity of the electrospun PULL/PVA/MMT super-absorbent webs and thus made the webs highly stable in aqueous environments. Overall, the addition of MMT resulted in improved thermal stability and mechanical properties and increased the water absorbency of the PULL/PVA/MMT composite.
authors.affiliation: Department of Building, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3G 1M8.
authors.forename: Md Shahidul
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Islam
authors.affiliation: Department of Building, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3G 1M8. Electronic address: saifur.rahaman@concordia.ca.
authors.forename: Md Saifur
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Rahaman
authors.affiliation: Department of Advanced Organic Materials Science and Engineering, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 702-701, South Korea.
authors.forename: Jeong Hyun
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Yeum
mesh_terms: D065966:Absorption, Physicochemical; D000538:Aluminum Silicates / Q000737:chemistry*; D001546:Bentonite / Q000737:chemistry*; D000077215:Clay; D004560:Electricity; D053761:Nanocomposites / Q000737:chemistry*; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000737:chemistry*; D011142:Polyvinyl Alcohol / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000538:Aluminum Silicates; D011134:Polysaccharides; D001546:Bentonite; D011142:Polyvinyl Alcohol; D000077215:Clay
keywords: Electrospun; Montmorillonite clay; Polysaccharide; Polyvinyl alcohol; Super-absorbent