The swelling capacity of a
polymer
A polymer (; Greek '' poly-'', "many" + ''-mer'', "part")
is a substance or material consisting of very large molecules called macromolecules, composed of many repeating subunits. Due to their broad spectrum of properties, both synthetic a ...
is determined by the amount of liquid material that can be absorbed by it. This test can done by two methods:
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Beaker test method
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Tea bag
A tea bag, or the compound teabag, is a small, porous, sealed bag or packet, typically containing tea leaves or the leaves of other herbs, which is immersed in water to steep and make an infusion. Originally used only for tea (''Camellia ...
test method
Beaker test method
In this method
* A small amount of
superabsorbent polymer
A superabsorbent polymer (SAP) (also called slush powder) is a water-absorbing hydrophilic homopolymers or copolymers that can absorb and retain extremely large amounts of a liquid relative to its own mass.
Water-absorbing polymers, which are cla ...
material is taken (0.1g) and it is placed in the beaker.
* 100 ml of deionized water is poured into the beaker.
* After 20 min the swollen polymer was separated by using
ilter paper* By weighing the polymer, one can find the swollen capacity of the SAP material.
Tea bag test method
* In this method, 0.1 g of SAP material is placed into a permeable bag, which is suspended over excess water in a beaker.
* Wait 20 min. and weigh the bag and then calculate the percentage of swelling through the following formula:
*: (w2-w1)/(w1) %
*: w1= weight of the polymer (Before swelling)
*: w2= weight of the polymer (After swelling)
* ''Note:'' Filter paper only for removing water.
References
Laboratory techniques
{{Polymer-stub