title: A novel polyacrylamide nanocomposite hydrogel reinforced with natural chitosan nanofibers.
abstract: Polyacrylamide (PAM) was used as a matrix material for fabricating novel nanocomposite hydrogels reinforced with natural chitosan nanofibers (CNFs) via in situ free-radical polymerization. The nanocomposite's structure, strength, morphology and rheological properties were investigated. The results showed that the CNFs had a strong interaction with PAM through hydrogen and covalent bondings. The CNFs acted as a multifunctional cross-linker and a reinforcing agent in the hydrogel system. The compression strength and storage modulus of the nanocomposite hydrogels were significantly higher than those of the pure PAM hydrogels and the corresponding PAM/chitosan semi-interpenetrating polymer network (PAM-SIPN) hydrogels. The swelling ratio (SR) of the nanocomposite hydrogels was lower than that of the PAM hydrogel, but was similar to that of the PAM-SIPN hydrogel. Among the CNF contents used, the 1.5 wt% CNF loading level showed the best combined swelling and mechanical properties for the hydrogels.
authors.affiliation: School of Renewable Natural Resources, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA.
authors.forename: Chengjun
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Qinglin
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D000180:Acrylic Resins / Q000737:chemistry*; D048271:Chitosan / Q000737:chemistry*; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D015394:Molecular Structure; D053761:Nanocomposites / Q000737:chemistry*; D057139:Nanofibers / Q000737:chemistry*; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D000180:Acrylic Resins; C016680:polyacrylamide gels; D048271:Chitosan