CPC C08J 9/283 (2013.01) [C08F 293/00 (2013.01); C08J 2201/026 (2013.01); C08J 2201/028 (2013.01); C08J 2201/0543 (2013.01); C08J 2205/05 (2013.01); C08J 2207/10 (2013.01); C08J 2207/12 (2013.01); C08J 2371/02 (2013.01)] | 20 Claims |
1. A superabsorbent structure, comprising a covalently crosslinked copolymer having a microstructure templated by an external phase of a high internal phase emulsion (HIPE), wherein said crosslinked copolymer is characterized by:
a) at least one network of covalently crosslinked chains, said crosslinked chains comprise hydrophobic sections and hydrophilic sections, each of said sections is a continuous chain of at least five residues long;
b) a ratio of residues of said hydrophilic sections to residues of said hydrophobic sections, ranging from 1:9 to 9:1; and
c) a total of said residues of said hydrophilic sections and said residues of said hydrophobic sections that is at least 30% of a total of residues in said network,
said crosslinked copolymer is capable of swelling in a polar medium and in an apolar medium, and
wherein said network comprises contiguous chains of at least one hydrophilic section and at least one hydrophobic section.
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