Effect of chitin nanowhiskers on mechanical and swelling properties of Gum Arabic hydrogels nanocomposites

Antonio G B Pereira; Cátia S Nunes; Adley F Rubira; Edvani C Muniz; André R Fajardo

doi:10.1016/j.carbpol.2021.118116

Effect of chitin nanowhiskers on mechanical and swelling properties of Gum Arabic hydrogels nanocomposites

Carbohydr Polym. 2021 Aug 15:266:118116. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2021.118116. Epub 2021 Apr 24.

Authors

Antonio G B Pereira¹, Cátia S Nunes², Adley F Rubira², Edvani C Muniz³, André R Fajardo⁴

Affiliations

¹ Grupo de Materiais Poliméricos e Compósitos (GMPC), Maringá State University, Av. Colombo 5790, 87020-900 Maringá, PR, Brazil; Laboratório de Biopolímeros, Coordenação de Engenharia de Bioprocessos e Biotecnologia, Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná (UTFPR- DV), Estrada para Boa Esperança, 85660-000 Dois Vizinhos, PR, Brazil. Electronic address: antoniog@utfpr.edu.br.
² Grupo de Materiais Poliméricos e Compósitos (GMPC), Maringá State University, Av. Colombo 5790, 87020-900 Maringá, PR, Brazil.
³ Grupo de Materiais Poliméricos e Compósitos (GMPC), Maringá State University, Av. Colombo 5790, 87020-900 Maringá, PR, Brazil; Departamento de Química, Universidade Federal do Piauí, 64049-550 Teresina, PI, Brazil; Programa de Pós-graduação em Ciência e Engenharia de Materiais, Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná (UTFPR- LD), Avenida dos Pioneiros, 3131, 86036-370 Londrina, PR, Brazil.
⁴ Laboratório de Tecnologia e Desenvolvimento de Compósitos e Materiais Poliméricos (LaCoPol), Federal University of Pelotas, Campus Capão do Leão s/n, 96010-900 Pelotas, RS, Brazil. Electronic address: andre.fajardo@pq.cnpq.br.

PMID: 34044933
DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2021.118116

Abstract

Hydrogels based on biopolymers like Gum Arabic (GA) usually show low applicability due to weak mechanical properties. To overcome this issue, (nano)fillers are utilized as reinforcing agents. Here, GA hydrogels were reinforced by chitin nanowhiskers (CtNWs, aspect ratio of 14) isolated from the biopolymer chitin through acid hydrolysis. Firstly, GA was chemically modified with glycidyl methacrylate (GMA), which allowed its crosslinking by free radical reactions. Next, hydrogel samples containing different concentrations of CtNWs (0-10 wt%) were prepared and fully characterized. Mechanical characterization revealed that 10 wt% of CtNWs promoted an increase of 44% in the Young's modulus and 96% the rupture force values compared to the pristine hydrogel. Overall, all nanocomposites were stiffer and more resistant to elastic deformation. Due to this feature, the swelling capacity of the nanocomposites decreased. GA hydrogel without CtNWs exhibited a swelling degree of 975%, whereas nanocomposites containing CtNWs exhibited swelling degrees under 725%.

Keywords: Chitin; Composite; Gum Arabic; Hydrogel; Swelling; Whiskers.