Molecules 2012, 17(11), 12587-12602; doi:10.3390/molecules171112587
Article

Effects of a Novel Poly (AA-co-AAm)/AlZnFe2O4/potassium Humate Superabsorbent Hydrogel Nanocomposite on Water Retention of Sandy Loam Soil and Wheat Seedling Growth

Shaukat Ali Shahid 1,2,* email, Ansar Ahmad Qidwai 2 , Farooq Anwar 3 , Inam Ullah 4  and Umer Rashid 5,* email
1 Department of Physics, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38040, Pakistan 2 Department of Physics, University of Karachi, Karachi 75270, Pakistan 3 Department of Chemistry, University of Sargodha, Sargodha 40100, Pakistan 4 Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Agriculture Faisalabad-38040, Pakistan 5 Institute of Advanced Technology, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang-43400, Selangor, Malaysia
* Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 3 September 2012; in revised form: 6 October 2012 / Accepted: 15 October 2012 / Published: 25 October 2012
(This article belongs to the Section Organic Synthesis)
PDF Full-text Download PDF Full-Text [615 KB, uploaded 25 October 2012 10:58 CEST]
Abstract: A novel poly(acrylic acid-co-acrylamide)AlZnFe2O4/potassium humate superabsorbent hydrogel nanocomposite (PHNC) was synthesized and its physical properties characterized using SEM, Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) and FTIR spectroscopic techniques. Air dried sandy loam soil was amended with 0.1 to 0.4 w/w% of PHNC to evaluate its soil moisture retention attributes. Effect of PHNC amendment on pH, electrical conductivity (EC), porosity, bulk density and hydraulic conductivity of sandy loam soil was also studied. The soil amendment with 0.1 to 0.4 w/w% of PHNC remarkably enhanced the moisture retention at field capacity as compared to the un-amended soils. Seed germination and seedling growth of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) was considerably increased and a delay by 6–9 days in wilting of seedlings was observed in the soil amended with PHNC, resulting in improved wheat plant establishment and growth.
Keywords: poly (AA-co-AAm)AlZnFe2O4/K-H; superabsorbent hydrogel nanocomposite characterization; SEM; EDX; FTIR; soil amendment; seedling growth

Article Statistics

Click here to load and display the download statistics.

Cite This Article

MDPI and ACS Style

Shahid, S.A.; Qidwai, A.A.; Anwar, F.; Ullah, I.; Rashid, U. Effects of a Novel Poly (AA-co-AAm)/AlZnFe2O4/potassium Humate Superabsorbent Hydrogel Nanocomposite on Water Retention of Sandy Loam Soil and Wheat Seedling Growth. Molecules 2012, 17, 12587-12602.

AMA Style

Shahid SA, Qidwai AA, Anwar F, Ullah I, Rashid U. Effects of a Novel Poly (AA-co-AAm)/AlZnFe2O4/potassium Humate Superabsorbent Hydrogel Nanocomposite on Water Retention of Sandy Loam Soil and Wheat Seedling Growth. Molecules. 2012; 17(11):12587-12602.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Shahid, Shaukat A.; Qidwai, Ansar A.; Anwar, Farooq; Ullah, Inam; Rashid, Umer. 2012. "Effects of a Novel Poly (AA-co-AAm)/AlZnFe2O4/potassium Humate Superabsorbent Hydrogel Nanocomposite on Water Retention of Sandy Loam Soil and Wheat Seedling Growth." Molecules 17, no. 11: 12587-12602.

Molecules EISSN 1420-3049 Published by MDPI AG, Basel, Switzerland RSS E-Mail Table of Contents Alert