Abstract: Water absorbing polymer-P(AA/AM) brushes on attapulgite were prepared by aqueous solution polymerization using a redox system [potassium persulfate(K2S2O8), potassium persulfate(Na2SO3)] and zaodiisobutyronitrile(AIBN) as initiators, N，N'-methylene-bis-acrylamide as a crosslinker. The grafting of poly(AA/AM) on the attapulgite was confirmed by FTIR. In this work , the water-absorbing property of the resin reached 125 g/g in distilled water, and 23 g/g in salt-water(0.9 wt %). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observation on the resin showed that a uniform dispersion of AT was obtained. The thermal stability of Poly(AA/AM)-g-AT was better than that of pure resin. The existence of AT and the use of AIBN reduced the of monomer residue.

Key words: thermal stability, attapulgite, super absorbent polymer, acrylic acid, acrylamide