Synthesis and characterization of polyvinyl alcohol/water-hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) based hydrogel by applying gamma radiation

A simple Gamma radiation (Cobalt-60 γ-ray source) technique was employed for the preparation of hydrogel based on Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA)/water-hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) (PW hydrogel) without using any external cross-linker. The structure of the synthesized hydrogels was characterized using Fourier Transform Infrared-Attenuated Total Reflection Spectroscopy (FTIR-ATR) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The effects of different radiation doses, the concentration of water-hyacinth on the properties of the prepared hydrogel, such as gel fraction, swelling ratio, water uptake, and mechanical properties including the tensile strength (TS), percentage elongation at break (EB) and biodegradability were investigated. The hydrogels showed a porous and interconnected network and flexible structure. The presence of water-hyacinth significantly escalated the swelling capacity of PVA hydrogels from 97.9% to 136.24% along with acceptable tensile strength. And the degradation percentage of PW hydrogel was remarkably higher than the pure PVA hydrogel. Furthermore, the weight loss of PW hydrogel was 12.86%, whereas 3.19% was for pure PVA hydrogel. Hence, this novel hydrogel showed some favorable potentials to be applied in various fields, especially, adsorption to remove the dye and heavy metals.