Fabrication of a sustained release delivery system for pesticides using interpenetrating polyacrylamide/alginate/montmorillonite nanocomposite hydrogels

In pest control field, the sustained release of pesticides plays significant roles in effectiveness and environment friendly. In this study, the sodium alginate (SA), polyacrylamide (PAM) and montmorillonite (MMT) were utilized to fabricate the stretchable double-network nanocomposite hydrogel, which apply in a sustained release system of acetamiprid. These nanocomposite hydrogels were fully characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results indicate that adding MMT could significantly improve the sustained release performances of the hydrogels. The swelling behavior of all the hydrogels well fits into the Fickian diffusion model. The hydrogel with 5.0% MMT content shows the maximum pesticides loading rate of 13.32% and minimum pesticides release rate of 76.11%. The nanocomposite hydrogels take advantages of both the gelation property of alginate and the adsorption capacity of clays, has great potential in the application of pesticides carrier to improve the utilization efficiency of water-insoluble pesticides.