Abstract
Some polymer gels can adsorb heavy-metal ions and can be usable for a wastewater purifying materials. However, a difficult problem for such a practical use occurs due to slow swelling and deswelling rates. In order to overcome this problem, the authors have been trying their property-alterations and, previously, they made a considerable swelling property promotion of the poly(acrylamide-co-sodium acrylate) gels by once soaking in organic solvents. Because each the swollen gel was also found to shows clear a peak in the Small Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS) profile, there can be close relation between the nano-structure and the swelling property. Therefore, in the present study, the authors have carried out detailed SAXS-profile examination, in which the SAXS peak shows characteristic behaviors: disappearance by dehydration and different completion periods of the nano-structure formation with the immersed organic solvents.
