Construction of high value-added products from natural renewable bioresources is challenging and rewarding. High crystalline polysaccharides like cellulose and chitin, are insoluble in common solvents, suffering from insufficient development and utilization. Chitosan, the N-deacetylated product of chitin, is soluble in acid aqueous solution, having attracted much attention. However, the utilization of chitosan-based materials has been hampered by the weak mechanical properties when regenerated from acidic media. Recently, a sequential chemical crosslinking and physical crosslinking strategy has been proposed by us to prepare double-cross-linked (DC) chitin and cellulose hydrogels with both strength and toughness significantly improved. Herein, high-strength and high-toughness chitosan hydrogels were successfully prepared from chitin aqueous solutions, using the green" and high-efficiency aqueous KOH/urea solution as solvent for chitin. The "one-pot" synthesis of chitosan hydrogels from chitin aqueous solution is based on a combination of <i>in-situ </i>deacetylation and sequential chemical and physical crosslinking strategy. Atomic force microscopic (AFM) images of DC chitosan hydrogels show that chitosan nanofibers self-assembled into a homogeneous 3D network structure. The incorporation of chemically and physically cross-linked domains imbues the DC chitosan hydrogels with relatively high-strength and high-toughness. The DC chitosan hydrogels are promising candidates for potential applications in biomedical materials, soft robots and environment-responsive materials.

High-strength and high-toughness double-cross-linked chitosan hydrogels: One-pot synthesis from chitin KOH/urea aqueous solution

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

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ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.