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. 2019 Jan 18;11(1):166.
doi: 10.3390/polym11010166.

Mechanical and Water-Resistant Properties of Eco-Friendly Chitosan Membrane Reinforced with Cellulose Nanocrystals

Haiquan Mao  1 , Chun Wei  2   3 , Yongyang Gong  4   5 , Shiqi Wang  6 , Wenwen Ding  7
Affiliations

Mechanical and Water-Resistant Properties of Eco-Friendly Chitosan Membrane Reinforced with Cellulose Nanocrystals

Haiquan Mao et al. Polymers (Basel). .

Abstract

Environmentally benign and biodegradable chitosan (CS) membranes have disadvantages such as low mechanical strength, high brittleness, poor heat resistance and poor water resistance, which limit their applications. In this paper, home-made cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) were added to CS to prepare CNC/CS composite membranes through mechanical mixing and solution casting approaches. The effects of CNC dispersion patterns and CNC contents on the properties of composite membranes were studied. The analysis of the surface and cross-section morphology of the membranes showed that the dispersion performance of the composite membrane was better in the case that CNC was dissolved in an acetic acid solution and then mixed with chitosan by a homogenizer (Method 2). CNC had a great length-diameter ratio and CNC intensely interacted with CS. The mechanical properties of the composite membrane prepared with Method 2 were better. With a CNC content of 3%, the tensile strength of the composite membrane reached 43.0 MPa, 13.2% higher than that of the CNC-free membrane. The elongation at break was 41.6%, 56.4% higher than that of the CNC-free membrane. Thermogravimetric, contact angle and swelling analysis results showed that the addition of CNC could improve the heat and water resistance of the chitosan membrane.

Keywords: cellulose nanocrystals; chitosan; mechanical property; membrane; water resistance.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(a) Cellulose molecule, (b) Chitosan molecule.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The process of forming polyelectrolyte complex (PEC) between cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) and chitosan (CS) molecules.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Preparation procedure of composite membranes with Method 1.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Preparation procedure of composite membranes with Method 2.
Figure 5
Figure 5
(a) Particle size distribution, (b) TEM image, and (c) Zeta potential distribution of CNC.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Polarizing microscopy results of (a) CNC suspension and (b–f) composite membranes prepared with 1–5% CNC suspensions (Method 1).
Figure 7
Figure 7
Polarizing microscopy results of (a) CS and (b–f) composite membranes prepared with 1–5% CNC suspensions (Method 2).
Figure 8
Figure 8
SEM images of (a) surface of CS membrane, (b) cross section of 3 wt % CNC composite membrane (Method 1), (c) cross section of CS membrane, and (d) cross section of 3 wt % CNC composite membrane (Method 2).
Figure 9
Figure 9
Effect of CNC contents on the mechanical properties of CNC/CS composite membranes prepared with (a) Method 1 and (b) Method 2, respectively.
Figure 10
Figure 10
FTIR spectra of CNC, CS and CNC/CS composite membranes.
Figure 11
Figure 11
XRD patterns of CNC, CNC/CS membrane, CS membrane, and CS powder.
Figure 12
Figure 12
(a) TG and (b) DTG analysis results of CNC/CS composite membranes.
Figure 13
Figure 13
Effect of CNC content on the contact angle properties of CNC/CS composite membranes.
Figure 14
Figure 14
Effect of CNC content on the swelling properties of CNC/CS composite membranes.
Figure 15
Figure 15
Biodegradation performances of the composite membrane.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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