7 International Journal of Green Chemistry and Bioprocess 2016; 6(1): 7-12 ISSN 2277-7199 Original Article Microwave assisted synthesis of pH sensitive superabsorbent polymers based Polyaspartic acid/acrylic acid Shilpa Sharma, Amita Dua and Amita Malik*. Department of Chemistry; Dyal Singh College; Lodhi Road, New Delhi-11 00 03 *corresponding author email: amitamalik@dsc.du.ac.in Received 30 May 2016; accepted 18 July 2016 Abstract Microwave organic synthesis has turned out to be a cause for revolution in organic synthesis. The technique is easily acceptable because it allows the synthesis to be done at a faster rate, being simple, efficient and involves less consumption of hazardous chemicals. It has provided a momentum for many chemists to switch from traditional heating method to microwave assisted chemistry. Microwave synthesis being an innovative process of heating has taken research a step ahead in green chemistry. This research work focuses on synthesis and characterization of superabsorbent polymer using microwave technique. Superabsorbent polymers (SAP) are 3-D cross linked network of the polymeric chains. These networks help SAP to swell and imbibes large amount of water and don’t even loose water when squeezed. T he synthesized polymeric material is composed of polymer, Polyaspartic acid, monomer acrylic acid with EGDMA and TMPTA as cross linkers and initiator ammonium persulfate. The synthesized SAP has been characterized by using various techniques namely swelling ratio under different conditions (physiological fluids,) and also by some techniques like FTIR, SEM and EDAX. Polymers with EGDMA as cross-linker have shown better absorption than TMPTA based samples in water and saline solution. However, in case of glucose TMPTA samples have shown better results. The highly absorbing material can be used in biomedical products such as wound dressings. © 2016 Universal Research Publications. All rights reserved Key words: Microwave, Synthesis, Cross-linker, Superabsorbent, Polymer, Swelling. 1.0 Introduction: Superabsorbent polymers (SAP) are a class of polymers that are able to absorb large amounts of water, typically more than traditional absorbent material as they consist of a network of polymer chains that are cross-linked to avoid dissolution. The ionic functional groups along the polymer chains are responsible for diffusion of water within the network Personal hygiene products which include diapers, adult continenance products; sanitary napkins mostly control the market for SAPs. Other areas of applications include, water retaining agents, dehydrating agents, and control release agents for various chemicals [1]. Polyacrylate is the principle material used in the synthesis of SAP for various industrial application. Superabsorbent polyacrylates are prepared by polymerizing acrylic acid produced from propene, which is a byproduct of ethylene and gasoline production. Therefore, production of polyacrylate is from nonrenewable material.. These being non-biodegradable add to the environmental pollution. Biodegradable polymers with polysaccharides and proteins have been developed by grafting of acrylic acid. Only a few studies have been reported in the case of protein-based SAPs [2, 3] Biodegradable poly(aspartic acid) (PAsp) based polymers are currently being investigated for many possible applications including use as scale inhibitors and dispersants, coatings, resin modifiers, drug carriers, chelating agents, fertilizers, and detergents, hair conditioners and fixatives, corrosion inhibitors, metal - working fluids and, especially, superabsorbent materials.[4]. These are being prepared by thermal polymerization. All the known methods of obtaining those polymers take a long time (from few to a dozen hours) and need a catalyst like phosphoric acid or p-toluenesulphonic acid [5-8]. The use of catalyst eliminates a number of applications in pharmacy and biomaterial engineering. Microwave radiation has been successfully applied in polymer chemistry and technology [9-11], among others to syntheses of poly(aspartic acid) and its derivatives [12-13]. Nevertheless the influence of different parameters of such synthesis method on the properties of the polymer obtained is not known. Synthesis of polyAsp has been reported using microwave from polysuccinimde [14]. Research of developing polymer based on PAsp as superabsorbent polymers is focused thermal polymerization. Not much Available online at http://www.urpjournals.com International Journal of Green Chemistry and Bioprocess Universal Research Publications. All rights reserved