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Preparation of Expanded Chitin Foams and their Use in the Removal of Aqueous Copper

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Chitosan-LiOH-urea aqueous solution--a novel water-based system for chitosan processing.

Min Fan¹, Qiaoling Hu

¹Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Key Laboratory of Macromolecule Synthesis and Functionalization, Ministry of Education, Hangzhou 310027, People's Republic of China.

Carbohydrate Research

|March 31, 2009

Summary

Chitosan can be dissolved in an aqueous lithium hydroxide (LiOH)/urea solution using a freeze-thawing method. This novel LiOH/urea solvent system offers a stable and effective way to dissolve chitosan for various applications.

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Area of Science:

Materials Science
Polymer Chemistry
Biochemistry

Background:

Chitosan, a biodegradable polysaccharide, has limited solubility in common solvents.
Developing efficient dissolution methods for chitosan is crucial for its application in biomaterials and nanotechnology.
Traditional methods often involve harsh chemicals or complex procedures.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the direct dissolution of partially N-deacetylated chitosan in an aqueous lithium hydroxide (LiOH)/urea solution.
To understand the mechanism of chitosan dissolution in this novel solvent system.
To characterize the properties of the resulting chitosan solution.

Main Methods:

Preparation of chitosan solution using a freeze-thawing process in aqueous LiOH/urea.
Analysis of hydrogen bond breakage using LiOH.
Formation of inclusion compounds (IC) with urea as host and LiOH-chitosan complex as guest.
Rheological and viscosity characterizations.
Optimization of LiOH and urea concentrations.

Main Results:

Chitosan was successfully dissolved directly in the aqueous LiOH/urea solution.
LiOH facilitated the breakage of hydrogen bonds within chitosan.
An inclusion compound (IC) formed between urea, LiOH, and chitosan.
The optimal solvent composition was determined to be 4.8 wt% LiOH and 8.0 wt% urea.
The resulting chitosan solution exhibited pseudoplastic fluid behavior and enhanced stability compared to acetic acid solutions.

Conclusions:

Aqueous LiOH/urea is an effective solvent system for dissolving chitosan via freeze-thawing.
The dissolution mechanism involves hydrogen bond disruption and IC formation.
The optimized chitosan solution demonstrates favorable rheological properties and stability for potential applications.