Preparation and characterization of water-absorbing composite membrane for medical applications

Abstract

The present work introduces a novel method for the formation of water absorbing composite membrane. The prepared composite is based on chitosan, carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), and Montmorillonite. Prepared composite membrane exhibits high water absorbing and holding capacity with increasing clay content. The water absorbency was studied as a function of the hydrogel composition and the medium pH. Structure and morphologies of the prepared composite have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), and transmission electron microscope (TEM). TEM study showed that the formed membrane is homogenous and prepared uniformly.

Keywords: Composite, clay, superabsorber, chitosan, carboxymethyl cellulose, composite membranes