SYNTHESIS AND APPLICATION OF ZINC LOADED CARBOXYMETHYL TAMARIND KERNEL GUM AND XANTHAN GUM-BASED SUPERABSORBENT HYDROGELS TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECT ON SESAME PLANT GROWTH

Abstract

The novel superabsorbent hydrogel (SAH) was fabricated by interpenetrating xanthan gum and carboxymethyl tamarind kernel gum with sodium methacrylate. Various compositions of SAH were fabricated by varying the concentration of biopolymers, monomers, cross linker, and initiators. The structural morphology of SAH was characterized by FTIR, FE SEM, and TGA techniques. The swelling behavior of SAH was studied in different mediums viz. distilled water, 0.9 % NaCl, pH 4,9, and 12. Zinc Chloride was incorporate in SAH for the release zinc micronutrient. The Zinc Superabsorbent hydrogel was utilized for controlled-release studies of zinc micronutrients in soil and water. It was found that ZSAH showed 51.6 % release in water within 60 hours and 51.87 % release in soil within 60 days which were analyzed by atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) technique. Moreover, under the release kinetic studies, it was seen that the Korsmeyer-Peppas model fitted well in the zinc release pattern in soil and water. The estimated value of diffusion exponent (n) clearly indicated that the mechanism of zinc release followed fickian diffusion. Hence, the novel synthesized ZSAH acts as an excellent micronutrient carrier for agricultural applications.