Affiliations 

  • 1 Department of Chemical and Energy Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Science, Curtin University Malaysia, CDT 250, 98009, Miri, Sarawak, Malaysia
  • 2 Petroleum and Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Brunei, Bandar Seri Begawan, BE1410, Brunei Darussalam. Electronic address: mubarak.yaseen@gmail.com
  • 3 Petroleum and Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Brunei, Bandar Seri Begawan, BE1410, Brunei Darussalam. Electronic address: kramarao.iitd@gmail.com
  • 4 Graphene & Advanced 2D Materials Research Group (GAMRG), School of Engineering and Technology, Sunway University, No. 5, Jalan University, Bandar Sunway, 47500, Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
  • 5 Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Institute for Environmental Research, Center for Solid Waste Research, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
  • 6 Centre for DNA Taxonomy, Molecular Systematics Division, Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata, 700 053, India
  • 7 Department of Civil Engineering, Mewat Engineering College, Nuh-122107,Haryana, India
Environ Res, 2023 Feb 15;219:115089.
PMID: 36529332 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2022.115089

Abstract

In the present work, the synthesis of cellulose nanowhiskers (CNW)/chitosan nanocomposite films via deep eutectic solvents (DES) changing the chemical structures were carried out. It was observed that a pure chitosan film has broadband at 3180-3400 cm-1, indicating amide and hydroxyl groups. Upon CNW incorporation, the peak gets sharper and stronger and shifts to a greater wavelength. Further, the addition of DES infuses more elements of amide into the nanocomposite films. Moreover, the mechanical properties incorporating CNW filler into a chitosan matrix show an enhancement in tensile strength (TS), Young's modulus (YM), and elongation at break. The TS and YM increase while the elongation decrease as the CNW concentration increases. The YM of biocomposite films is increased to 723 MPa at 25% CNW into chitosan films. Besides, the TS has enhanced to 11.48 MPa at 15% CNW concentration in the biocomposite films. The elongation at break has decreased to 11.7% at 25% CNW concentration. Hence, incorporating CNW into the chitosan matrix via DES can still improve the mechanical properties of the nanocomposite films. Therefore, the application of DES results in a lower YM and TS as the films are hygroscopic. In conclusion, DES can be considered the new green solvent media for synthesizing materials. It has the potential to replace ionic liquids due to its biodegradability and non-toxic properties while preserving the character of low-vapour pressure. Besides that, chitosan can be used as potential material for applications in process industries, such as the biomedical and pharmaceutical industries. Thus, DES can be used as a green solvent and aim to reduce the toxic effect of chemicals on the environment during chemical production.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.