title: Unusual effects of monocarboxylic acids on the structure and on the transport and mechanical properties of chitosan films.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to study the transport of monocarboxylic acids in chitosan films, since this is important for understanding and predicting the drying kinetics of chitosan from aqueous solutions. Despite the wealth of data on chitosan films prepared from aqueous monocarboxylic acid solutions, this transport has not been reported. Chitosan films were exposed to formic, acetic, propionic and butyric acid vapours, it was found that the rate of uptake decreased with increasing molecular size. The equilibration time was unexpectedly long, especially for propionic and butyric acid, nine months. A clear two-stage uptake curve was observed for propionic acid. Evidently, the rate of uptake was determined by acid-induced changes in the material. X-ray diffraction and infrared spectroscopy indicated that the structure of the chitosan acetate and buffered chitosan films changed during exposure to acid and during the subsequent drying. The dried films previously exposed to the acid showed less crystalline features than the original material and a novel repeating structure possibly involving acid molecules. The molar mass of the chitosan decreased on exposure to acid but tensile tests revealed that the films were always ductile. The films exposed to acid vapour (propionic and butyric acid) for the longest period of time were insoluble in the size-exclusion chromatography eluent, and they were also the most ductile/extensible of all samples studied.
authors.affiliation: KTH Royal Institute of Technology, School of Chemical Science and Engineering, Fibre and Polymer Technology, SE-100 44 Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Fei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Innventia, Box 5604, SE-11486 Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Mikael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gällstedt
authors.affiliation: KTH Royal Institute of Technology, School of Chemical Science and Engineering, Fibre and Polymer Technology, SE-100 44 Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Richard T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Olsson
authors.affiliation: KTH Royal Institute of Technology, School of Chemical Science and Engineering, Fibre and Polymer Technology, SE-100 44 Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Ulf W
authors.initials: UW
authors.lastname: Gedde
authors.affiliation: KTH Royal Institute of Technology, School of Chemical Science and Engineering, Fibre and Polymer Technology, SE-100 44 Stockholm, Sweden. Electronic address: mikaelhe@kth.se.
authors.forename: Mikael S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Hedenqvist
mesh_terms: D019342:Acetic Acid / Q000737:chemistry; D020148:Butyric Acid / Q000737:chemistry*; D048271:Chitosan / Q000737:chemistry*; D002850:Chromatography, Gel; D011422:Propionates / Q000737:chemistry*; D012995:Solubility; D013055:Spectrophotometry, Infrared; D013718:Tensile Strength; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction
chemical_list: D011422:Propionates; D020148:Butyric Acid; D048271:Chitosan; C029658:propionic acid; D019342:Acetic Acid
keywords: Chitosan; Diffusivity; Mechanical properties; Monocarboxylic acids; Uptake