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Published on: July 9, 2015
Hydrogen-bonded thin films of cellulose ethers and poly(acrylic acid)
Xuejian Zhang1, Feng Lin1, Qian Yuan1
1State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, Center for Advanced Low-dimension Materials, College of Material Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, PR China.
Abstract:
Etherification of cellulose can get a series of water soluble derivatives, which can form hydrogen-bonded polymer complex with poly(acrylic acid) (PAA). Three cellulose ethers hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC), hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC) and methyl cellulose (MC) are LbL assembled with PAA to fabricate thin films. The hydrogen bonding of the films is characterized with FT-IR. The film growth behaviors are monitored by a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) and a spectroscopic interferometer, which shows a different growth rate for different system and a strong dependence on pH values. The stability of the films can be increased by heat treatment. Once the cross-linked structure is formed, and the dissolution of film can be prevented even in the high pH value. In addition, the films show good water adsorption ability from environment. Owing to pH responsive behavior and good water adsorption, CE/PAA films can be explored for various applications, especially for biomedical application.
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