Synthesis of organic/inorganic hybrid gel with acid activated clay after γ-ray radiation.

A hybrid gel was prepared from acid activated clay (AA clay) and acrylic acid by gamma ray irradiation. Irradiated inorganic particles which have peroxide groups act as initiator because it generates oxide radicals by increasing temperature. Inorganic nanoparticles which are rigid part in hybrid gel also contribute to increase the mechanical property as a crosslinker. We prepared two hybrid gels to compare the effect of acid activated treatment of clay; one is synthesized with raw clay particles and another is synthesized with AA clay particles. The composition and structure of AA clay particles and raw clay particles were confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence instrument and surface area analyzer. And chemical and physical property of hybrid gel with different ratios of acrylic acid and clay particle was tested by Raman spectroscope and universal testing machine (UTM). The synthesized hydrogel with 76% gel contents can elongated approximately 1000% of its original size.