Synthesis and characterization of water-soluble chitosan grafted with hydrophilic aliphatic polyester

Traditionally, hydrophobic aliphatic polyester has been employed to modify chitosan and organic soluble or swellable graft copolymers have been obtained. In this work, linear poly(butylene tartrate) (PBT) with hydrophilic pendant hydroxyl groups, which was synthesized by direct polycondensation of tartaric acid and butanediol under mild condition, was chosen to modify chitosan and synthesize PBT grafted chitosan (CS-g-PBT) with the mediation of 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide in aqueous solution of an ionic liquid. The chain length of the grafted PBT could be facilely controlled by varying the molecular weight of PBT. The chemical structures of CS-g-PBT were systematically characterized by 1H NMR, attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared and wide-angle X-ray diffraction. The thermal properties were investigated by thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry. The water solubility of chitosan has been effectively improved after grafting with PBT and a water-soluble chitosan derivative has been synthesized. Meanwhile, the water solubility of grafts varies regularly with chain length of grafted PBT.