Viscometric Studies in Dilute Solution Mixtures of Chitosan and Microcrystalline Chitosan with Poly(vinyl alcohol)

The viscosity behavior of aqueous mixtures formed by a polyelectrolyte (A) and a neutral polymer (B), such as chitosan/poly(vinyl alcohol) (Ch/PVA) and microcrystalline chitosan/poly(vinyl alcohol) (MCCh/PVA), have been investigated at 25 °C. The intrinsic viscosity and the viscosity interaction parameter of each polymer in 0.1 mol·dm^-3 CH₃COOH/0.2 mol·dm^-3 NaCl solution as well as the ternary systems (polymer A/polymer B/solvent) have been determined and have served for estimation of the miscibility of different polymer mixtures by means of the method of classical dilution. By comparing the experimental and ideal viscosity data it is clearly seen that the satisfaction of the miscibility criterion depends on the definition of the ideal parameter [Formula: see text]. If the [Formula: see text] parameter is defined according to the Krigbaum-Wall criterion and Garcia criterion, the investigated blends of Ch/PVA satisfy the miscibility criterion. In the case of MCCh/PVA blends, the polymeric components show poor miscibility. Additionally, the viscosity results show that the degree of miscibility depends on the molecular weight of chitosan and on the degree of PVA hydrolysis.