SUPERABSORBENT MATERIALS BASED ON CELLULO SE

Superabsorbent materials are substances capable to absorb and bind lar ge amounts of aqueous fluids. They are used above ail in modern hygien e articles. The common structural characteristic of such substances is the existence oi long chain molecules tied loosely together to form a threedimensional network. In this work, such materials were made on t he basis oi the cellulose ethers CMC and HEC and investigated with res pect to a potential application as superabsorbent materials. it could be shown that an interesting property profile was achieved. By varying composition and network density, the degree oi swelling and the elast ic modulus could be adjusted on a large scale as requested. The experi mentally obtained data concerning swelling and elasticity can be descr ibed by theoretically derived relationships with the chain stiffness o i the cellulose backbone playing an important role.