Cross-linked chitosan/chitin crystal nanocomposites with improved permeation selectivity and pH stability

This study is aimed at developing and characterizing cross-linked bionanocomposites for membrane applications using chitosan as the matrix, chitin nanocrystals as the functional phase, and gluteraldehyde as the cross-linker. The nanocomposites' chemistry and morphology were examined by estimation of gel content, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and atomic force microscopy (AFM), whereby the occurrence of cross-linking and nanoscale dispersion of chitin in the matrix was confirmed. Besides, cross-linking and chitin whiskers content were both found to impact the water uptake mechanism. Cross-linking provided dimensional stability in acidic medium and significantly decreased the equilibrium water uptake. Incorporation of chitin nanocrystals provided increased permeation selectivity to chitosan in neutral and acidic medium.