Preparation and properties of carboxymethyl cellulose hydrogels

CMC hydrogels were successfully prepared using aluminum ions as a cross-linking agent. The crosslinking mechanism of CMC and the aluminum ions were discussed. The structure of CMC hydrogels was characterized via FTIR and TG. The light transmission and swelling ratio of CMC with different substitution were measured and the results indicated that the increase of CMC substitution greatly improved the light transmission of CMC hydrogels. The swelling ratio of CMC hydrogels increased with the increase of temperature and the substitution of CMC.