  In this paper we present a new one-pot synthesis method of
poly(acrylate-co-acrylamide) superabsorbent polymer via partial alkaline
hydrolysis of acrylamide using microwave irradiation. This method allows to
hydrolysis, polymerization and gelation to take place in one pot during a very
short reaction time (90 s), and with no need to operate under inert atmosphere.
The degree of hydrolysis of the gel was determined by a back titration method.
The gel is compact and has a water absorbency of 1031 g/g while the
corresponding copolymer prepared from polymerization of sodium acrylate and
acrylamide, using microwave irradiation and under the same experimental
conditions, has a water absorbency of only 658g/g. This difference in water
absorbency is discussed. FTIR spectroscopy was used to verify the hydrolysis
and the formation of sodium acrylate. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed
that the synthesized hydrogel has a macroporous structure. The influence of the
environmental parameters on water absorbency such as the pH and the ionic force
was also investigated.
