Preparation of Expanded Chitin Foams and their Use in the Removal of Aqueous Copper

Chitin/Chitosan Biocomposite Foams with Chitins from Different Organisms for Sound Absorption

“…Currently, foams are widely used in many different parts of daily life and under constant investigation, for example, for purification of water or support of neural tissue growth. , Nevertheless, at the moment, the majority of foams is based on synthetic polymers such as polystyrene and polyurethane and primarily used in applications such as construction and insulation. − These foams are crude oil-based and thus require fire retardant additives like hexabromocyclododecane, which is classified as a persistent organic pollutant by the Stockholm Convention due to its toxicity and persistence. , To avoid those toxic compounds, it is highly desirable to get access to foam materials that have intrinsic flame retardancy and are derived from renewable biomass sources. An attractive resource is chitin, which is the second most abundant biopolymer with an annual growth of 100 billion tons in the biosphere. , Chitin is an β-1,4-linked N -acetylglucosamine biopolymer, which, similarly to cellulose, exists in various polymorphs in different organisms.…”

“…Currently, foams are widely used in many different parts of daily life and under constant investigation, for example, for purification of water or support of neural tissue growth. 1,2 Nevertheless, at the moment, the majority of foams is based on synthetic polymers such as polystyrene and polyurethane and primarily used in applications such as construction and insulation. 3−6 These foams are crude oil-based and thus require fire retardant additives like hexabromocyclododecane, which is classified as a persistent organic pollutant by the Stockholm Convention due to its toxicity and persistence.…”