<![CDATA[A carboxymethyl cellulose-graft-poly(acrylic acid)/montmorillonite superabsorbent polymer composite (SAPCs) or hydro gel was prepared by graft-copolymerization among carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), acrylic acid (AA), and montmorillonite (MMT) in aqueous solution. In this research, factors influencing water absorbency or swelling ratio of the hydro gel such as reaction of temperature, concentration of benzoylperoxide (BPO) initiator and concentration of methyl bisacrylamide crosslinker (MBA) were studied. As fixed variable were used time of reaction is five hours and speed of mechanic agitation is 300 rpm. Hydro gel acquired the highest equilibrium water absorbency of 126.56 g/g when ratio of AA to CMC is 10 : 1; 2.5 wt% BPO; 3.75 wt% MBA; and 10 wt% MMT was incorporated. In this experiment the hydro gel PAA Absorb commercial was used as standard that has equilibrium water absorbency of 123 g/g. The graft-copolymerization reaction mechanism, morphology, and thermal stability of the composites were also investigated by FTIR, SEM, and TGA, respectively. FTIR spectra showed –OH of CMC participated in graft polymerization with AA. The introduced CMC and MMT endowed the composite a higher thermal stability.Keywords : CMC-g-poly(AA)/MMT, superabsorbent polymer composites, hydro gel, BPO, MBA INTISARIMaterial superabsorben polimer komposit (SAPCs) atau hidro gel karboksimetil selulosa – cangkok - asam poliakrilat / monmorilonit dipersiapkan melalui proses graft-kopolimerosasi antara karboksimetil selulosa, asam akrilat (AA), dan monmorilonit (MMT) dalam larutan encer. Dalam penelitian ini telah dipelajari faktor-faktor yang berpengaruh terhadap kemampuan hidro gel dalam menyerap air seperti suhu reaksi, konsentrasi inisiator benzoil peroksida (BPO), dan konsentrasi pengikat silang metil bisakrilamida (MBA). Variabel tetap yang digunakan adalah waktu reaksi 5 jam dan kecepatan pengadukan 300 rpm. Hidro gel hasil penelitian memberikan serapan air atau swelling ratio tertinggi 126,56 g H2O/g hidro gel pada kondisi operasi yaitu rasio AA terhadap CMC adalah 10 : 1, konsentrasi BPO 2,5% w/w, MBA 3,75% w/w, dan MMT 10% w/w. Hidro gel PAA Absorb komersial digunakan sebagai standar dengan kesetimbangan penyerapan air123 g/g. Mekanisme reaksi kopolimerisasi cangkok, morfologi, dan kestabilan panas dari SAPCs dipelajari melalui analisa FTIR, SEM, dan TGA. Hasil spektra FTIR menunjukkan gugus fungsional –OH dari CMC berperan aktif dengan AA. Penggunaan CMC dan MMT dalam proses kopolimerisasi cangkok telah memberikan kestabilan panas yang lebih tinggi pada material hidro gel.Kata kunci : CMC-g-poli(AA)/MMT, superabsorben polimer komposit, hidro gel, BPO, MBA]]>
