Kinetic study of thermal degradation of chitosan as a function of deacetylation degree

Thermal degradation of chitosan with varying deacetylation degree (DD) ranging between 50 and 85% was analyzed by dynamic thermogravimetric analysis at different heating rates. The present study focused on the temperature range between 500 and 800K, above water evaporation. Thermal degradation showed a main degradation stage in this temperature interval with a second stage that appeared in the weight derivative curves as a shoulder in the high temperature side of the main peak with increasing intensity as the DD decreased. The Kissinger and isoconversional Ozawa-Flynn-Wall models were employed to evaluate the Ea of both thermal degradation processes. Different kinetic models were tested to computer simulate the thermogravimetric traces calculating the model parameters with a non-linear least squares fitting routine. The Sestack-Berggren model allowed reproducing accurately the overlapping of the two degradation mechanisms and calculating the mass fraction lost in each of them revealing the coupling between the two degradation mechanisms.