Progress in the Synthesis and Application of Starch Superabsorbent Polymers

Superabsorbent is one of the fastest developing functional polymers.USA,Europe and Japan are the main producers and consumers.Our country's research in this field started later,but progress has been made.Compared with the mainstream products prepared from acrylic acid,using starch as raw material to produce superabsorbents is being accentuated,for starch is abundant,cheap and biodegradable.Progress in the synthesis,including the graft copolymerization of single monomers and multi-monomers which comprise ethylenic monomers on starch,and application of starch superabsorbent polymers were reviewed.Some new trends in their development such as the use of modified starch as raw material,multi-monomers grafting on starch and preparation of complex superabsorbents were also described in this paper.