Achmad Sjaifullah

Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Jember  

Beny Akhmat Saputra

Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Jember

Agung Budi Santoso

Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Jember

Busroni

Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Jember

I Nyoman Adiwinata

Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Jember

Muhammad Reza

Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Jember

DOI: https://doi.org/10.19184/ICL.v1i2.201

ABSTRACT 

This study aims to synthesize a hydrogel zeolite composite of arrowroot starch graft copolymerized with acrylic acid through a radical polymerization reaction in a water. Various scenarios were tested using different natural zeolite concentration to determine the impact on swelling/water absorption of the composite. The resulting product was a solid gel—the test results showed that the swelling increased as the ratio of starch to acrylic acid decreased. Increased starch concentrations generally lead to decreased water absorption (swelling capacity). Adding a zeolite improved swelling to some extent and the optimum zeolite concentration was 60%. The increased concentration of zeolite also hardened the hydrogel composite. The highest swelling in the hydrogel composite of starch-g-poly(acrylic acid)/zeolite 60% is 1056.25 g.g-1. FTIR analysis of functional groups was conducted to determine differences in the IR spectra of arrowroot starch, acrylic acid, hydrogels, zeolites, and composite hydrogel. Si-O signal appearing on the IR spectra of hydrogel composite with wave number 1030 cm-1 indicates that composite hydrogel with zeolite was synthesized.   

Keywords: Arrowroot starch, composites hydrogel, compressive strength, swelling capacity.