N.A. Ochoa

NaOH treatment of chitosan films: Impact on macromolecular structure and film properties.

In this paper, we examine the significance of treatment with NaOH on chitosan (CH) film structure to obtain biodegradable materials for several applications. In order to determine the structure of the films, an analysis based on SEM, FTIR spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction data was performed. In addition, the consequences of this treatment were evaluated by swelling index measurements and mechanical testing. As result of FTIR and X-ray analysis, three effects were identified: the deprotonation and phosphate extraction, which allowed new hydrogen bonds to form, and a higher CH deacetylation. These studies also revealed that two hydrated and anhydrous polymorphs were present in the CH-NaOH films. Moreover, the new hydrogen bond and the reduction of N-acetyl groups produced films with a more compact and disordered structure, reducing their swelling characteristics and increasing their brittleness. The introduction of a mild NaOH treatment is a versatile tool to obtain chitosan films with interesting and tunable properties.

Influence of Pectin as a green polymer electrolyte on the transport properties of Chitosan-Pectin membranes

Novel blend membranes have been prepared from Chitosan (CH), Pectin (PEC) and their mixtures. The obtained samples were cross-linked and sulfonated before characterization. The results show that CH/PEC membranes display structural changes on the chemical and physical properties as a function of composition. DSC analysis reveals an endothermic peak due to the scission of the ionic pairs between carboxylic groups and ammonium groups, which produces a strong change on physical properties such as methanol permeability and proton conductivity. The methanol permeability decreases with the amount of Pectin from (4.24±0.04)×10-6cm2/s for pure Chitosan membrane to (1.51±0.03)×10-6cm2/s for blend CH/PEC membranes when the amount of Pectin is 50% (v/v). The proton conductivities of the blend membranes follow a similar behavior. For a pure CH membrane the conductivity is 2.44×10-3S/cm, decreasing with pectin content until the composition 50/50 (v/v), in which the conductivity drops almost one order of magnitude.