Chemically crosslinked superabsorbents based on Salai guggal aqueous extract templates for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles Preparation properties and applications

Abstract

vii newlineAbstract newlineSince ancient times, polymer-based products are most demanding in the form of food cosmetics, medicine and other items. With the passage of time and rapid growth in the field of research, hydrogels were discovered and utilized as superabsorbent polymeric materials with their diversified applications in the field of agriculture, horticulture, pharmaceutical and biomedical. Natural hydrogels being biodegradable have several advantages over the synthetic ones. In recent years, the use of metal nanoparticles such as gold, silver and copper is being extensively used for the production of biomedical products. Out of these, the nano-particles of silver are most widely used for developing such materials because of their greater effectiveness against various microorganisms. The nano-particles of silver have potential to control the microbial infection, but their poor binding characteristic with the surface limits their use as an antibacterial agent against the infected surface sites. This problem can be solved by incorporating the silver nanoparticles inside the hydrogel matrix transforming it into silver-nanocomposites. Hydrogels have large empty free space inside the crosslinked polymer network and thus can act as a reservoir for the loading of silver nanoparticles. The incursion of silver nanoparticles inside the gel matrix introduces new properties among the material like large deformability, good electrical conductivity, high swelling/deswelling rate, high transparency and in addition to this strong antibacterial activity is also introduced. In the present era, the purification of water polluted with harmful textile dyes is also a challenging problem for the researchers. The contaminated water can affect aquatic species as well as human beings. The untreated discharge of industries produces mutagenic, carcinogenic and allergic impacts on the living species. Hydrogels and hydrogel based nanocomposites play an important role in the treatment of wastewater contaminated with organic pollutants such as dyes a