Chitosan‐based nanocomposite membranes with improved properties: Effect of cellulose acetate blending and TiO₂ nanoparticles incorporation

Abstract

The aim of this work was to synthesize nanocomposite membranes based on chitosan (CS) and cellulose acetate (CA) blends containing titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles and investigate their morphological, structural, mechanical, and thermal properties along with dye affinity ligand content for using potentially as bioadsorption applications. The samples were characterized by means of scanning electronic microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X‐ray (EDX), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), tensile, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and water contact angle (WCA). The SEM micrograph images showed a uniform and microporous morphology of the prepared membranes. FTIR analysis confirmed the presence of CA and TiO2 nanoparticles through the CS matrix in which the components used had good compatibility. The mechanical and thermal studies emphasized that strong interactions occurred between CS, CA, and TiO2 nanoparticles. Blending CS with CA and the addition of TiO2 nanoparticles enhanced the hydrophilic property of CS membranes, significantly. The CS/CA based nanocomposite containing 1.5 wt% of TiO2 nanoparticles showed the remarkable improvements in ultimate tensile strength values and an increase in stiffness more than three times compared to the neat CS membrane sample. Finally, considering the results of tensile test and immobilized Cibacron Blue F3G‐A (CB) content measurement, the nanocomposite samples denoted by (50/50) CS/CA/TiO2 (1.5%) were nominated as the promising material used for potentially bioadsorptive membrane. POLYM. COMPOS., 39:4452–4466, 2018. © 2017 Society of Plastics Engineers

Investigations on Amphoteric Chitosan/TiO2 Bionanocomposites for Application in Visible Light Induced Photocatalytic Degradation

“…The winding of polymer chains around the TiO 2 nanoparticles resulted in the growth of globular shaped network nanocomposites. Similar type of observations was reported for chitosan-ZnO/polyaniline hybrid composites and chitosan (CS) and cellulose acetate (CA) blends containing titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles [31,32]. The elemental composition of CA and CAT was confirmed from EDX studies.…”

One-Step Synthesis of Eu3+-Modified Cellulose Acetate Film and Light Conversion Mechanism

“…Figure 4 shows SEM images of the surface and section of CA film and CA–Eu film. Figure 4 a,b (magnification of 10,000×) shows that the surface of the pure CA film had the porous structure of different sizes [ 24 , 25 , 26 ], however, the pores in CA–Eu light conversion film were filled. And these tiny pores at the surface are a result of the phase separation [ 27 ].…”

“…With longer reaction times, heat would destroy the balance that established between the intra molecular and intermolecular reactions so that the length of the Eu–O bond became larger. This caused a decline in the fluorescence intensity and proved that the Eu–O bond distance had an important effect on the emission intensity: A shorter bond length leads to a higher luminescence intensity [ 26 ]. Therefore, the fluorescence intensity of the light conversion film for the reaction time at 65 min was optimal when other conditions were the same.…”

Mechanical and Water-Resistant Properties of Eco-Friendly Chitosan Membrane Reinforced with Cellulose Nanocrystals

“…These derivatives can be applied in the fields of biomedicine [7,8,9], environmental protection [10,11], food packaging [12], functional materials [13,14], membrane technology [15,16,17,18] and so on. For example: Zhijiang, C. et al [19] prepared a chitosan-based nanofiltration membrane by electrospinning technology, which can effectively remove the dye in wastewater [20]. The cellulose and chitosan composite membrane prepared by Urbina, L. [21] and Lam, B.…”